Prof. Mohanan Nair: While the perception of pain is highly variable among individuals, the increase as also the decrease in the degree of pain is determined not only by the intensity of the stimulus but also by psychological factors. For example, the pain of crucifixion should be excruciating, but Jesus could not have certainly felt it so, because, moved by love, he was sacrificing himself for the salvation of humanity. The poem ‘The night of the Scorpion’ by Ezekiel in a lesser way speaks of the pain endured by a mother. The poet’s mother was stung by a scorpion on a rainy night. The superstitious villagers sat around her with the peace of understanding on each face. They said that the pain of the sting would burn away the sins of her previous birth and would reduce the sufferings of her next birth. It may also purify her flesh of desire and her spirit of ambition. The poet’s father, a skeptic and a rationalist, tried ‘every powder, mixture, herb and hybrid’. However when after twenty hours the sting was lost the poet’s mother only said, ‘thank God, the scorpion picked on me and spared my children’. That is love for her children! True love for others is one factor that reduces the pain.
Great artistic creations invite lot of pain and heartache. God knows how much mental pain and agony Shakespeare would have endured in writing his great tragedies. Such things could be written with the artiste’s total involvement only – the detachment of the self is not possible. Once it is finished it relieves the artist of the pain and exhaustion of creation. He feels excited as the mother who had delivered the child. The audience on the other hand identify themselves with the tragic heroes and share their pain and agony. This raises them morally and spiritually to a higher level by purifying their feelings.
But there is the physical and mental pain from which the sufferer never gets relief. The other day I saw a picture of a living martyr on the front page of a leading daily. It is that of a young man who was hit by a bullet in the neck twelve years ago which paralyzed him completely. The columns speaks about his immense courage and says that his faith in the political party would console him and relieve him of his pain. I do not know. I know only one thing. He has a long life to live, but cannot do it by himself. He is condemned to suffer physical and mental pain all through his life. This is not an isolated case. There are hundreds like him – the victims of politics.
I also think sometimes of the cruelty of children and the consequent mental pain endured by the parent, who in the evening of his life is entrusted to the care of old age homes. Imagine his mental pain and agony especially when he knows that he is to be kept frozen in the mortuary for a few days, sometimes even a week.
Dr. Babu: This reminds me of the Malayalam picture ‘Thingalarscha Nalladivasam’ Monday is auspicious. On that auspicious day when the mother is dumped by her children in the old age home in order to sell the ancestral house, she collapses and dies of shock.
Prof. Sankarankutty: In a community, the pain of an individual is a common pain shared by all members. Individual pain thus get shared and lessened. It is part of the tribal culture inherited by other communities. It had certain sanctity. Now with the alienation of the individual from the community, he has to bear the burden of the whole pain himself.
Sri. Kumhikrishnan: A bereavement for example, is of course shared by the community. The sharing is possible only in respect of the psychological or mental pain. But what about the physical pain? It has to be born by the individual only.
As far as the mental part is concerned there is a remedy in meditation. Inward looking can slowly eliminate any mental pain as it arises by practice. But physical pain is unavoidable?
Dr. Babu: For every physical pain there is a mental component. If the mental component is eliminated, the physical part also should disappear to certain extent. After all, all perception of pain is through the brain/mind.
Dr. Sanjeev: Pain is meant to be a protective mechanism. But in the case of diseases like leprosy all sensation is lost. The message is not carried to the brain. The mechanism does not therefore work. The physical pain is not felt.
Dr. Babu: Even where there is pain and sensation is not lost, if the nerves carrying the pain signals are blocked before it reaches the areas of the brain, no pain can be felt. But the mental discomfort or agony may still be there. The question arises, should one get trained to get rid of pain?
Dr. Sadanandan: When one is hungry one has to move to eat something. When one is thirsty he has to drink. Similarly when he is in pain he has to do something to get rid of it. Take medicines, go to a doctor, take rest etc. When one is suffering from psychological pain, what can one do? Go hunting for some ideas or ideology? Can some idea, ideology or faith help get rid of the mental agony? One should look at the whole mechanism and try to understand. Be with the fact of pain.
Dr. Babu Ravindran: For everybody there is a certain threshold of pain. It varies from individual to individual. But it is also possible to change the threshold by certain methods and training. Experiments have shown that the threshold can be brought down and the pain reduced.
Monday, December 10, 2007
ekkentros free thoughts - pain
Prof. Hay: While in fight as in the case of a combating soldier in a war, the feeling of pain is considerably reduced. The body’s defensive mechanism jumps into action. The body adjusts itself and the secretions from various glands perhaps help this adjustment.It is partly psychological as well.
Sri. Kunhikrishnan: Yes. As we have discussed earlier, the mind plays an important part and is even responsible for the prompt actions of the secreting glands. What about the people who are suffering pain from prolonged illness and are nearing death? How are their pain relieved? I have read in books about the hospices. How far do they help?
Dr. Thomas: Hospices are meant for the terminally ill patients. Although the hospice movement was started with good humanitarian interests, today it has become big business in western countries.
The hospice system was founded by an English physician named Cicely Saunders who had the first hospice in London in 1967. A team of people including the patient’s relatives, doctors, social service people like health visitors, clergymen, nurses and volunteers looked after the patient dying of terminally ill and incurable diseases to give him relief from physical and mental pain. Earlier the hospice team members used to visit the residences of patients to help them. The hospices are now like special nursing homes catering to the elderly dying patients suffering from chronic or terminal diseases.
As regards medicines and methods for relieving pain, there was apparently no medicines in ancient times. In stone age they were perhaps hitting the head of the patient with a stone to make him unconscious, so that he is not aware of the pain till he wakes up again. For alleviation of pain, medicines actually started only after the second world war when anesthesia and antibiotics came into use. From the fifties and sixties of the last century, pain and palliative medicines became very important and effective drugs for the same were discovered. The discovery of anesthetics was a land mark. Then came the universal analgesic aspirin. Later came paracetamol, cox-1, cox-2 endorphins etc.. For cancer morphine oral tablets are now being given. With the advent of many pain-relieving medicines, chronic patients can now be rehabilitated.
Dr. Babu Ravindran: The management of pain is now very much advanced. Every type of pain, even acute and chronic pains have now fairly good treatment. Wherever there is swelling there is inflammation that causes pain. The pain killing tablets reduce inflammation and thereby relieve the pain. Substances called prostaglandins and kinins are formed at the site of the inflammation activating the pain receptors. Drugs like Cox (Cycloxigeneratives) and aspirin inhibit the formation of prostaglandins to reduce the swelling and pain.
Patients who are in pain are generally depressed and anxious about their pain. And this aggravates the pain. Antidepressants are therefore used to relieve the depression. For nerve and neurotic pains, there are anti-epileptic medicines.
Some of the most common painkillers have undesirable side-effects. For example, Aspirin, not only the most effective and common analgesic, but also used in the treatment of heart problems because of its ability to reduce blood clots, irritates the stomach lining, causing bleeding in the stomach. Paracetamol, which does not have this defect, is also harmful when taken in large dozes. Normally it does not accumulate in the body. Yet in huge quantities, it is poisonous, damaging the liver. It appears that there are a large number of suicides in the United States, committed merely by swallowing large overdose of Paracetamol.
Narcotics, especially opioids like morphine are widely used as pain relievers, although they are addictive if treatment is prolonged. The mechanism of giving injection of opioids in the spinal chord to relieve chronic pain is one of the modern treatments.
Prof.Richard Hay: The Calicut Medical college has a Pain and Palliative Care unit, which was in the news recently because of its excellence. When some British delegates from the medical and social professions visited the unit they found it exceptionally well managed, and the patients well taken care of. And they are supposed to have remarked that they do not have such well managed centers in England, because there it will be too expensive.
Dr. Thomas: The five main causes of pain are, Injury, Congenital defects(by birth), Degeneration, Infection, and Tumor (Cancer). Each is handled in different ways, and the drugs used for management of pain will widely vary.
Sri. Kunhikrishnan: Yes. As we have discussed earlier, the mind plays an important part and is even responsible for the prompt actions of the secreting glands. What about the people who are suffering pain from prolonged illness and are nearing death? How are their pain relieved? I have read in books about the hospices. How far do they help?
Dr. Thomas: Hospices are meant for the terminally ill patients. Although the hospice movement was started with good humanitarian interests, today it has become big business in western countries.
The hospice system was founded by an English physician named Cicely Saunders who had the first hospice in London in 1967. A team of people including the patient’s relatives, doctors, social service people like health visitors, clergymen, nurses and volunteers looked after the patient dying of terminally ill and incurable diseases to give him relief from physical and mental pain. Earlier the hospice team members used to visit the residences of patients to help them. The hospices are now like special nursing homes catering to the elderly dying patients suffering from chronic or terminal diseases.
As regards medicines and methods for relieving pain, there was apparently no medicines in ancient times. In stone age they were perhaps hitting the head of the patient with a stone to make him unconscious, so that he is not aware of the pain till he wakes up again. For alleviation of pain, medicines actually started only after the second world war when anesthesia and antibiotics came into use. From the fifties and sixties of the last century, pain and palliative medicines became very important and effective drugs for the same were discovered. The discovery of anesthetics was a land mark. Then came the universal analgesic aspirin. Later came paracetamol, cox-1, cox-2 endorphins etc.. For cancer morphine oral tablets are now being given. With the advent of many pain-relieving medicines, chronic patients can now be rehabilitated.
Dr. Babu Ravindran: The management of pain is now very much advanced. Every type of pain, even acute and chronic pains have now fairly good treatment. Wherever there is swelling there is inflammation that causes pain. The pain killing tablets reduce inflammation and thereby relieve the pain. Substances called prostaglandins and kinins are formed at the site of the inflammation activating the pain receptors. Drugs like Cox (Cycloxigeneratives) and aspirin inhibit the formation of prostaglandins to reduce the swelling and pain.
Patients who are in pain are generally depressed and anxious about their pain. And this aggravates the pain. Antidepressants are therefore used to relieve the depression. For nerve and neurotic pains, there are anti-epileptic medicines.
Some of the most common painkillers have undesirable side-effects. For example, Aspirin, not only the most effective and common analgesic, but also used in the treatment of heart problems because of its ability to reduce blood clots, irritates the stomach lining, causing bleeding in the stomach. Paracetamol, which does not have this defect, is also harmful when taken in large dozes. Normally it does not accumulate in the body. Yet in huge quantities, it is poisonous, damaging the liver. It appears that there are a large number of suicides in the United States, committed merely by swallowing large overdose of Paracetamol.
Narcotics, especially opioids like morphine are widely used as pain relievers, although they are addictive if treatment is prolonged. The mechanism of giving injection of opioids in the spinal chord to relieve chronic pain is one of the modern treatments.
Prof.Richard Hay: The Calicut Medical college has a Pain and Palliative Care unit, which was in the news recently because of its excellence. When some British delegates from the medical and social professions visited the unit they found it exceptionally well managed, and the patients well taken care of. And they are supposed to have remarked that they do not have such well managed centers in England, because there it will be too expensive.
Dr. Thomas: The five main causes of pain are, Injury, Congenital defects(by birth), Degeneration, Infection, and Tumor (Cancer). Each is handled in different ways, and the drugs used for management of pain will widely vary.
ekkentros free thoughts - pain
Prof. Richard Hay:. The concept and understanding of pain differ from culture to culture. And therefore the differences in their approach to pain and their attitude to the sufferer of pain are widely varying.. In the East the perception of pain in general has a subtle spiritual angle whereas in the west people tend to be indifferent to the pain of others. I have personally noticed it in an incident in one of the western countries. When one of the persons in a group fell sick, others avoided him totally and behaved boisterously ignoring him altogether. In such instances the members of the group in an eastern society would show much natural sympathy because they can empathize with the sufferer. This I think is because of the cultural difference.
We cannot but notice that the world wars started in the west. The second world war was then dragged to the East. The business of war is to inflict pain. The Japanese had been as cruel as the Germans. This is rather surprising when we consider that the Japanese follow Buddhism, a peace advocating and non-cruel religion.
Dr.Thomas: There is a distortion in their beliefs in the sense that self- infliction of pain has been their tradition. There is glory for them in suicide. They call it ‘Harakiri’.
Prof.Hay: Inhuman and brutal cruelty is perpetrated against the people of the ‘enemy’ country in the name of war. Cruelty is almost institutionalized in the groups trained for fighting. When the war psychosis sets in, inflicting pain and cruelty becomes the sole goal of any war, whether it is in the Mahabharatha war or in the Iraq war. Cruelty on the ‘enemy’ is taken for granted. Majority of the societies world over accepts the modality!
There seems to be a correlation between pain and culture. The attitude towards pain change with changes in culture. Among Asiatic people who tend to be deeply religious and are ‘God-fearing’, pain is looked upon as avoidable. There is compassion in the outlook of the people. We need not go far back to notice the aggressive nature of the western culture. The west’s attack of Iraq on the pretext of non-existent weapons, or its attack on Viet-Nam, supposedly an easy target, are examples. The Viet-Namese suffered extreme pain, but ultimately won and had their own way. Iraq, once the hub of human civilization, and which still held remnants and symbols of an ancient culture is now almost destroyed. Posterity may see here an attempt to perpetuate the North-South divide and differences.
The younger generation in America is now more conscious of the failings of their cultures. Their way of life had been based on an attitude that promotes that anything pleasurable is welcome. A way of thinking that comes from killing and eating flesh and meat without the feeling of guilt. Eastern culture respects not only other cultures but also other creatures. This has its roots in the teachings of Buddha. The Sufi cult also propagated it. Understanding the other beings and empathy with all creatures had been the core of Eastern cultures.
Pain whether physical or mental is the root cause of mental tension that creates neurotic conditions. The human psyche is so formed that, may be, it is economic poverty or social condition, anything adverse creates mental tension and consequential pain that can turn into neurosis. Unbearable pains are suffered by people who undergo traumatic experiences. The very look of a rape victim will reveal the pain and agony being suffered by her. Torture, whether by police or Mafia is another type of pain that is excruciating because of the physical as well as the mental agony involved. Imagine the pain inflicted on the four dalit Maharashtrians recently by the upper class. These underprivileged people were paraded and dragged naked and then killed. The physical pain and the social trauma they underwent are unimaginable. The violence and cruelty are social as well as political.
Extreme sufferings of pain and agony cause dreams and nightmares to occur in sleep. The person is restless and disturbed during day and suffers traumatic pangs in bad dreams. Some become alcoholic or addicted to drugs. The disturbance and suffering is then carried to the family. Acute cases of pain and agony often result in loss of memory or aggressive behaviour including emotional outbursts. The person can become unproductive, anti-social with aggressive sexual behaviour and in general of criminal tendencies prone to vandalism.
Pain and suffering is of course part of life. So is pleasure. But pain is remembered more. It is more deeply rooted in the mind. Therefore painful memories come back to the mind too often.
To be born is to suffer
To grow old is to suffer
To die is to suffer
To lose what is loved is to suffer.
To endure what is disturbing is to suffer
Therefore in life, pain and suffering are inevitable.
Dr. Babu Ravindran: Which is more unbearable? Mental or physical pain? Mental pain when unbearable results in suicide. So does physical pain, but it happens less often. In the case of torture or rape it is the pain as well as the humiliation that makes them unbearably agonizing with both mental as well as physical pains.
General observation: The human Rights Society is meant to protect people from torture. But interpretation of the rights makes it a mockery by serving only the strong.
Dr. Thomas: Thomas Hardy in his novels describes exquisitely some traumatic events. He also writes authoritatively experiences from a doctor’s point of view, although he is only a self-tutored person with no formal education to mention about.
Prof.. Sankarankutty: Suffering and agony are reduced to its fundamentals in poetry. For example, in the poem on the ancient mariner Coleridge brings out poignantly, the excruciating agony of the mariner arising from the guilt of shooting down the albatross until he gets emancipation when a feeling of love for even the slimy creatures of the sea arise in him.
General observation: In earlier times people in pain and suffering used to get some relief by getting resigned to it by attributing the pain to Sani-Dasa or wrong-doing in a previous birth.
We cannot but notice that the world wars started in the west. The second world war was then dragged to the East. The business of war is to inflict pain. The Japanese had been as cruel as the Germans. This is rather surprising when we consider that the Japanese follow Buddhism, a peace advocating and non-cruel religion.
Dr.Thomas: There is a distortion in their beliefs in the sense that self- infliction of pain has been their tradition. There is glory for them in suicide. They call it ‘Harakiri’.
Prof.Hay: Inhuman and brutal cruelty is perpetrated against the people of the ‘enemy’ country in the name of war. Cruelty is almost institutionalized in the groups trained for fighting. When the war psychosis sets in, inflicting pain and cruelty becomes the sole goal of any war, whether it is in the Mahabharatha war or in the Iraq war. Cruelty on the ‘enemy’ is taken for granted. Majority of the societies world over accepts the modality!
There seems to be a correlation between pain and culture. The attitude towards pain change with changes in culture. Among Asiatic people who tend to be deeply religious and are ‘God-fearing’, pain is looked upon as avoidable. There is compassion in the outlook of the people. We need not go far back to notice the aggressive nature of the western culture. The west’s attack of Iraq on the pretext of non-existent weapons, or its attack on Viet-Nam, supposedly an easy target, are examples. The Viet-Namese suffered extreme pain, but ultimately won and had their own way. Iraq, once the hub of human civilization, and which still held remnants and symbols of an ancient culture is now almost destroyed. Posterity may see here an attempt to perpetuate the North-South divide and differences.
The younger generation in America is now more conscious of the failings of their cultures. Their way of life had been based on an attitude that promotes that anything pleasurable is welcome. A way of thinking that comes from killing and eating flesh and meat without the feeling of guilt. Eastern culture respects not only other cultures but also other creatures. This has its roots in the teachings of Buddha. The Sufi cult also propagated it. Understanding the other beings and empathy with all creatures had been the core of Eastern cultures.
Pain whether physical or mental is the root cause of mental tension that creates neurotic conditions. The human psyche is so formed that, may be, it is economic poverty or social condition, anything adverse creates mental tension and consequential pain that can turn into neurosis. Unbearable pains are suffered by people who undergo traumatic experiences. The very look of a rape victim will reveal the pain and agony being suffered by her. Torture, whether by police or Mafia is another type of pain that is excruciating because of the physical as well as the mental agony involved. Imagine the pain inflicted on the four dalit Maharashtrians recently by the upper class. These underprivileged people were paraded and dragged naked and then killed. The physical pain and the social trauma they underwent are unimaginable. The violence and cruelty are social as well as political.
Extreme sufferings of pain and agony cause dreams and nightmares to occur in sleep. The person is restless and disturbed during day and suffers traumatic pangs in bad dreams. Some become alcoholic or addicted to drugs. The disturbance and suffering is then carried to the family. Acute cases of pain and agony often result in loss of memory or aggressive behaviour including emotional outbursts. The person can become unproductive, anti-social with aggressive sexual behaviour and in general of criminal tendencies prone to vandalism.
Pain and suffering is of course part of life. So is pleasure. But pain is remembered more. It is more deeply rooted in the mind. Therefore painful memories come back to the mind too often.
To be born is to suffer
To grow old is to suffer
To die is to suffer
To lose what is loved is to suffer.
To endure what is disturbing is to suffer
Therefore in life, pain and suffering are inevitable.
Dr. Babu Ravindran: Which is more unbearable? Mental or physical pain? Mental pain when unbearable results in suicide. So does physical pain, but it happens less often. In the case of torture or rape it is the pain as well as the humiliation that makes them unbearably agonizing with both mental as well as physical pains.
General observation: The human Rights Society is meant to protect people from torture. But interpretation of the rights makes it a mockery by serving only the strong.
Dr. Thomas: Thomas Hardy in his novels describes exquisitely some traumatic events. He also writes authoritatively experiences from a doctor’s point of view, although he is only a self-tutored person with no formal education to mention about.
Prof.. Sankarankutty: Suffering and agony are reduced to its fundamentals in poetry. For example, in the poem on the ancient mariner Coleridge brings out poignantly, the excruciating agony of the mariner arising from the guilt of shooting down the albatross until he gets emancipation when a feeling of love for even the slimy creatures of the sea arise in him.
General observation: In earlier times people in pain and suffering used to get some relief by getting resigned to it by attributing the pain to Sani-Dasa or wrong-doing in a previous birth.
ekkentros free thoughts - pain
Dr.Md.Abdulla: From time immemorial Pain has been an unsolved entity in human suffering. It starts at birth and ends at death. It continues as an inseparable companion of life. As such scientists have classified pain into different categories like Physical pain, Somatic pain, Neural pain, Mental pain etc.
Whatever be the type of pain or the source of pain, as far as human beings are concerned, perceptions of pain differ from person to person, and from occasion to occasion. The variations are more mainly in mental pain than in physical pain. To be precise, pain is an individualized phenomenon of which the beginning and end are not predictable.
The Forum has already discussed almost all aspects of pain. To recall, they are,
Physical pain, Mental pain, the subjective aspect of pain, the objectification of pain in great Plays and Drama, Fear of pain, Expression of pain, Spiritual aspect of pain like that of Moksha or freedom from mental and physical pain, and the Pathways of pain viz. the neuro-physiology of Pain.
Thus most of the aspects of pain have already been discussed or mentioned here. My thought therefore shifted to loss of pain and thus to anaesthesia. Anaesthesia is primarily an induced insensibility to pain, and generally the loss of sensibility to pain. It is the process of blocking the perception of pain and other sensations. Anaesthesia is of several types.
1.General anesthesia is loss of consciousness that is reversible.
2.Local Anesthesia is loss of sensation only, again reversible, in a small part of the body by localized administration of anesthetic drugs at the required site. And,
3. Regional Anesthesia is loss of sensation, and possibly movement, reversible, in a region of the body by selective blocking of sections of the spinal cord or nerves supplying the region.
As regards the history of Anesthesia, Hypnotism and Acupuncture have been in use for long for purposes of blocking pain and sensations. In China, the Taoist medical practitioners developed Acupuncture as a means of creating anesthetic effect. Chilling tissues with ice was also used in the past to produce effects of anesthesia locally.
From historic times, the most important substances in use for anesthesia were the herbal derivatives like opium and hemp. They were either ingested, or burned and the smoke inhaled. Alcohol was also used in olden times for the purpose of creating some anesthetic effect.
The development of effective anesthetics in modern times started in the 19th century. The first was Ether. It was used by the British, especially by the surgeons and Dentists in Britain till Chloroform was discovered in1846. Chloroform was found to have lesser side effects than Ether. It got royal approval in 1853 when Dr.John Snow gave it to Queen Victoria during the birth of Prince Leopold. The ‘Etherdome’, the surgical amphitheatre at Massachusetts where this happened exists to this day.
Other local anesthetics are, Procane, Amythocaine, and Cocaine used in spinal anesthesia or Epidural Techniques. In current practice, Theopental, Curare (for neuromuscular blocking and paralysis), Halothane, Synceryl Choline. Gaseous vapors and volatile agents used are Halothane Isoflurane, and Nitrous Oxide. The most long lived and successful anesthetic was Nitrous Oxide. Ether, Chloroform and Nitrous Oxide remained the main stay in Anesthetics for 80 long years till in 1950 when Fluroxene was introduced, but it did not last long having been withdrawn in 1975.
Now a thought flashes into my mind about the abuse of pain and anesthesia, which I choose to call by a newly coined term ‘The Criminology of Pain’.
From ancient times people had been using or rather abusing the sensation of pain as a means of punishment, the most common and simplest example being the infliction of pain on children by parents and teachers to punish them. This being a universal phenomenon nobody has ever bothered about the abuse or the criminal aspect of it. A more intensified version of this is the punishing of criminals and war prisoners by lashing. Often the sufferers of punishment are innocent suspects or victims of intrigue. A striking example and an authentic evidence of the Criminology of Pain is indeed the Crucifixion of Christ. His suffering of pain and agony was of the utmost degree that any human being could imagine. The cruel sport of ancient Romans in making errand Gladiators fight lions and tigers, open handed, is another example.
In the modern society the police often abuse Pain for extracting truth or confession of crime from the accused. Suspected terrorists are said to be tortured by methods like introducing pins under their nails or through their urethra. The now notorious ‘Uruttal’, rolling an iron roller along the legs and body, is another means of inflicting extreme pain, said to be used by the police.
The criminology of pain will not be complete without mentioning the pleasure that a lot of people get out of seeing a boxing punch. We can see an entire mob in ecstasy when an opponent is punched out of the ring.
Kunhikrishnan: Pain is often unavoidable in this Life. When it is inevitable it has to be endured. The capacity for endurance is either inborn or is cultivated. To some, extreme faith gives tremendous capacity to suffer pain. Ideological beliefs also create such a capacity. Suicide squads are examples.
There are some good aspects also in suffering pain or anguish. One is, as already mentioned, that pains function as a warning system to protect the body. The second is that suffering of pain builds up the capacity to understand the pain of others, and thus develops compassion in the sufferer. Understanding, compassion and empathy are more in those who have suffered physical or mental pain than in people who have not undergone such suffering.
And the third and the most important aspect of pain is that it can actually help in the understanding of ones mind in its totality. A little practice can open the gates for revelation of the mind’s functioning. Suppose you have an ache in your stomach. You feel it, and you are aware of it constantly till it is alleviated or disappeared. That feeling of it and awareness of it, is the way of ‘seeing’ the pain or being conscious of the pain. If one goes on seeing the pain without agonizing it one understands the pain. From such understanding comes the wisdom of witnessing.
Once you are able to ‘see’ acute aches and pains, you will slowly become aware and watchful about smaller pains also. Watchful here means only aware of. and not watchful to avoid it as in the normal course. This practice can give one the capacity to watch and see any movement in one’s body including one’s thoughts. One can feel one’s thoughts. and one can feel one’s emotions arising in the mind. Slowly the capacity to understand one’s own mind develops. This is part of meditation although one need not call it by any common name lest it be misunderstood.
Whatever be the type of pain or the source of pain, as far as human beings are concerned, perceptions of pain differ from person to person, and from occasion to occasion. The variations are more mainly in mental pain than in physical pain. To be precise, pain is an individualized phenomenon of which the beginning and end are not predictable.
The Forum has already discussed almost all aspects of pain. To recall, they are,
Physical pain, Mental pain, the subjective aspect of pain, the objectification of pain in great Plays and Drama, Fear of pain, Expression of pain, Spiritual aspect of pain like that of Moksha or freedom from mental and physical pain, and the Pathways of pain viz. the neuro-physiology of Pain.
Thus most of the aspects of pain have already been discussed or mentioned here. My thought therefore shifted to loss of pain and thus to anaesthesia. Anaesthesia is primarily an induced insensibility to pain, and generally the loss of sensibility to pain. It is the process of blocking the perception of pain and other sensations. Anaesthesia is of several types.
1.General anesthesia is loss of consciousness that is reversible.
2.Local Anesthesia is loss of sensation only, again reversible, in a small part of the body by localized administration of anesthetic drugs at the required site. And,
3. Regional Anesthesia is loss of sensation, and possibly movement, reversible, in a region of the body by selective blocking of sections of the spinal cord or nerves supplying the region.
As regards the history of Anesthesia, Hypnotism and Acupuncture have been in use for long for purposes of blocking pain and sensations. In China, the Taoist medical practitioners developed Acupuncture as a means of creating anesthetic effect. Chilling tissues with ice was also used in the past to produce effects of anesthesia locally.
From historic times, the most important substances in use for anesthesia were the herbal derivatives like opium and hemp. They were either ingested, or burned and the smoke inhaled. Alcohol was also used in olden times for the purpose of creating some anesthetic effect.
The development of effective anesthetics in modern times started in the 19th century. The first was Ether. It was used by the British, especially by the surgeons and Dentists in Britain till Chloroform was discovered in1846. Chloroform was found to have lesser side effects than Ether. It got royal approval in 1853 when Dr.John Snow gave it to Queen Victoria during the birth of Prince Leopold. The ‘Etherdome’, the surgical amphitheatre at Massachusetts where this happened exists to this day.
Other local anesthetics are, Procane, Amythocaine, and Cocaine used in spinal anesthesia or Epidural Techniques. In current practice, Theopental, Curare (for neuromuscular blocking and paralysis), Halothane, Synceryl Choline. Gaseous vapors and volatile agents used are Halothane Isoflurane, and Nitrous Oxide. The most long lived and successful anesthetic was Nitrous Oxide. Ether, Chloroform and Nitrous Oxide remained the main stay in Anesthetics for 80 long years till in 1950 when Fluroxene was introduced, but it did not last long having been withdrawn in 1975.
Now a thought flashes into my mind about the abuse of pain and anesthesia, which I choose to call by a newly coined term ‘The Criminology of Pain’.
From ancient times people had been using or rather abusing the sensation of pain as a means of punishment, the most common and simplest example being the infliction of pain on children by parents and teachers to punish them. This being a universal phenomenon nobody has ever bothered about the abuse or the criminal aspect of it. A more intensified version of this is the punishing of criminals and war prisoners by lashing. Often the sufferers of punishment are innocent suspects or victims of intrigue. A striking example and an authentic evidence of the Criminology of Pain is indeed the Crucifixion of Christ. His suffering of pain and agony was of the utmost degree that any human being could imagine. The cruel sport of ancient Romans in making errand Gladiators fight lions and tigers, open handed, is another example.
In the modern society the police often abuse Pain for extracting truth or confession of crime from the accused. Suspected terrorists are said to be tortured by methods like introducing pins under their nails or through their urethra. The now notorious ‘Uruttal’, rolling an iron roller along the legs and body, is another means of inflicting extreme pain, said to be used by the police.
The criminology of pain will not be complete without mentioning the pleasure that a lot of people get out of seeing a boxing punch. We can see an entire mob in ecstasy when an opponent is punched out of the ring.
Kunhikrishnan: Pain is often unavoidable in this Life. When it is inevitable it has to be endured. The capacity for endurance is either inborn or is cultivated. To some, extreme faith gives tremendous capacity to suffer pain. Ideological beliefs also create such a capacity. Suicide squads are examples.
There are some good aspects also in suffering pain or anguish. One is, as already mentioned, that pains function as a warning system to protect the body. The second is that suffering of pain builds up the capacity to understand the pain of others, and thus develops compassion in the sufferer. Understanding, compassion and empathy are more in those who have suffered physical or mental pain than in people who have not undergone such suffering.
And the third and the most important aspect of pain is that it can actually help in the understanding of ones mind in its totality. A little practice can open the gates for revelation of the mind’s functioning. Suppose you have an ache in your stomach. You feel it, and you are aware of it constantly till it is alleviated or disappeared. That feeling of it and awareness of it, is the way of ‘seeing’ the pain or being conscious of the pain. If one goes on seeing the pain without agonizing it one understands the pain. From such understanding comes the wisdom of witnessing.
Once you are able to ‘see’ acute aches and pains, you will slowly become aware and watchful about smaller pains also. Watchful here means only aware of. and not watchful to avoid it as in the normal course. This practice can give one the capacity to watch and see any movement in one’s body including one’s thoughts. One can feel one’s thoughts. and one can feel one’s emotions arising in the mind. Slowly the capacity to understand one’s own mind develops. This is part of meditation although one need not call it by any common name lest it be misunderstood.
ekkentros free thoughts - pain
Dr.Thomas: Dalai Lama was once invited to a Psychiatric conference. In the course of the discussions he was asked to comment on the observation of some of the participants that the ‘God feeling’ that some ‘godmen’ claim to experience is a sort of a disease of the mind like epilepsy. The Lama replied that with all the modern scientific advancement and technology available to them if the scientists are able to produce a similar condition of ‘god feeling’, or the divine state of the mind, he would be only too happy. It would hardly matter whether it is achieved through stimulation of the brain by instrumental probes or by some other means.
The divinity in great saints like Ramakrishna Paramahans or Ramana Maharshi appear like madness or epileptic attack to people who do not understand.
The conversation before the start of the main discussion slowly veered around the question where exactly the perception of the PAIN starts and who is the perceiver, sufferer or the feeler? The pain may be localized, say, in the toe. The person feels the pain in the toe. The pain receptors take the signals, and through a network of nerves carry them to the brain. Does only the brain ‘feel’ the pain. Or the nerves all through also feel the pain, or the whole body, every cell, feels it? In anesthesia or when a person is unconscious, he does not feel the pain although he is fully alive and all normal bodily functions are active. That would indicate/suggest that consciousness is the perceiver or feeler of the pain. But if the communicating nerves are numbed or cut then also the consciousness cannot feel the pain. The mind of course feels the pain in another way. When it is anxious it can panic, and the panic magnifies the nagging pain. But the main question remains as to who is the direct sufferer of the pain. Mind is part of consciousness. Is the mind the feeler as well as the sufferer? The whole question is intriguing and requires unraveling.
Professor Sankarankutty remarked that there arises the age-old question of the observer and the observed. Who is the observer of the pain? The pain is objectified here, and there is always a distance between the observer and the pain that is being observed. Here, it is not a detached observation. The space between the pain and the feeler of pain is much reduced. Is the pain itself then the feeler of pain and also the consciousness at the moment of pain? There is also the question what is consciousness? Is it synonymous with awareness? And is not consciousness or awareness of something different from pure awareness/ pure consciousness without an object?
All these questions are left for deeper thought and later discussion.
After the Forum’s invocation, the discussion was continued by Dr. Babu Ravindran.
Dr. Babu Ravindran: Generally speaking, pain is an unpleasant sensation located in a part of the body. It’s positive aspect is that it is a protective mechanism meant for preservation of life.
There are two types of pain in general, described as penetrating or emotional. The penetrating type is tissue destructive and can be variously described as stabbing, burning, twisting, tearing, or squeezing. The emotional type is felt as extreme discomfort or uneasiness. Some pain of higher intensity is accompanied by anxiety, and an urge to escape or to terminate the feeling. The duality of Pain is that it involves both sensation and emotion.
When pain is acute it is characteristically associated with behavioral arousal and stress response like Increased Blood Pressure and heart rate, and Cortisol Release. In addition, local muscle contraction, viz., limb flexion and muscle rigidity are present. These responses are necessary for immobilization and protection of the affected part of the body.
How is the pain perceived? There are specialized nerve cells or neurons called receptors throughout the body. Pain receptors are part of the peripheral nervous system consisting of sensory nerves, motor nerves and sympathetic nerves. The receptors sense the pain impulses and pass them on to the sensory nerves. The sensory nerves pass on the impulses to the spinal chord or the brain. After processing by the network of nerves in the brain or spinal chord the instructions for action are passed on through the motor nerves to the various parts of the body. When there is very sudden detection of pain the impulses do not go all the way to the brain. Quick and immediate instructions for reaction go from the spinal chord itself. This results in what is called Reflex Action. It is a reflex arc from receptors to the sensory nerves to spine to motor nerve and the executing tissues. An example can be seen in the functioning of bladder muscles when it is full. The immediacy of the sensation to pass urine goes as impulses to the spinal chord and if the pathways to the brain are blocked or injured, reflex action works, and immediate instruction to hold the urine goes to the bladder muscles at once from the spinal cord itself.
Peripheral nerves are of three different types. 1. Sensory afferent 2. Motor efferent, and, 3. Sympathetic. The sensory nerves are afferent in the sense that impulses are directed towards the spinal cord. The cell body of the sensory nerve is the dorsal root ganglia. Axon of the nerve bifurcates into two, one going to spinal cord and the other to the tissue. Impulses from the organs of the body are passed on to the central nervous system by these nerves. The motor neurons on the other hand pass on impulses of instructions from the central nervous system to parts of the body. The sympathetic nerves help carry out the involuntary functions.
The vertebra protects the spinal cord. The sensory nerves are in the posterior of the spinal cord, and the motor nerves in the anterior. Similarly the sensory cortex is in the posterior part of the cortex of each hemisphere of the brain, and the motor cortex is in the anterior part. The main nerves go out from the spinal cord towards various parts of the body through the gaps in the vertebra called the Intervertebral foramen.
Nerves in general are of three different types, viz. A beta, A delta, and C.
Ab type of nerves is of large diameter, and carries the light touch. It is not associated with deeper pain but is present in superficial pain (minimal pain) and skin numbness.
Ad type is myelinated (i.e. sheathed), of small diameter, fastest and very sensitive. Pain is felt by this nerve much more than by other types.
C type is unmyelinated. It is also pain sensitive but to a lesser degree than type Ad. It has pain receptors called noceceptors
If the Ad type and C type are blocked, the ability to detect pain is abolished. But if Ab is blocked the pain will still be there unless the nerve itself is damaged.
When there is tissue injury, what are called inflammatory mediators like prostaglandins, bradykinins, and leukotrines are released. The presence of these creates more pain. This process is called sensitization. The affected area becomes more sensitive. Histamines are also produced. contributing to the increased pain. A typical example is the sunburned skin.
The sensory receptors called Noceceptors contain mediator polypeptides, like for example, a neuro transmitter called Substance P, which is also a vasodilator, contributing to increased pain. If substance p is blocked pain is decreased
Pain is not felt alike in all parts of the body. Intestines feel a pain only when it is stretched, not when it is cut. Although the brain perceives all pain, the brain material itself has no pain. Only the meninges, the outer covering membrane feels the pain.
.
Then there is what is called Referred Pain. Sometimes when there is some visceral damage at or near the diaphragm, pain is felt at the shoulder skin. This is because the skin over the shoulder, and the diaphragm, has the same nerve supply. Their common blood supply is through cervical nerves C3 and C4.
We have all noticed that often fear and agony arise when a person is in pain. A reason for this can be found in the pattern of the nerve supply to the brain. Pain signals pass through the spinal tract called the Dorsal Spino-thalamus Tract and reach the Thalami. From the Thalamus the impulses go to the Sensory Cortex through the third order nerves. Now, the sensory cortex that senses the pain is pure sensation, and not emotion. But from the Thalamus the pain signals not only go to the sensory cortex but also go simultaneously to the area in the brain called the Cingulate Gyrum linked to emotional receptors. Emotions like fear are thus triggered when pain is felt.
Pain Modulation: BEECHER’S World War II Survey found on investigation that some of the injured soldiers felt no pain in war although they had been feeling even minor pain in their house in peacetime. Actually it is the expectation of pain that induced pain without any noxious stimuli that is normally responsible for the sensation of pain. The brain does this by a sort of selective control of the pain transmitting nerves. When the brain expect pain the circuits starts the operation of modulation of the transmitting pathways that have links to hypothalami, mid-brain, and medulla The brain circuits have thus control over the pain transmitting neurons. In war the brain utilizes this facility for relieving of pain. The brain circuits cause the release of pain relieving chemicals like. bEndorphin and Enkephalin. These chemicals are absorbed by the ‘opioid receptors’, so called because the chemicals Endorphin and Enkephalin are similar to natural Opioids.
Neuropathic pain: Damage or dysfunction of a portion of a nerve produce pain. This is called neuropathic pain. An example is the pain due to the disease called Herpes Zoster. A person who is healed of Chicken Pox is not always free of the pox virus. Some of the virus get into the Ganglia of the patient and lies there dormant till the system becomes weak and vulnerable. Then the disease comes out erupting along the path of a particular nerve affected by the virus. There are thus painful eruptions of a particular nature and pattern along the path of the nerve. This is only one of the examples of neuropathic pain.
Ischaemic Pain: When the required blood supply does not reach a part of the body derangement of metabolism happens to that part, and the neurons in the area are affected thus producing pain. An example of ischaemic pain is Angina Pectoris. Lactate and Pyroate, which are pain-producing chemicals, accumulate in the affected part of the body causing pain.
The divinity in great saints like Ramakrishna Paramahans or Ramana Maharshi appear like madness or epileptic attack to people who do not understand.
The conversation before the start of the main discussion slowly veered around the question where exactly the perception of the PAIN starts and who is the perceiver, sufferer or the feeler? The pain may be localized, say, in the toe. The person feels the pain in the toe. The pain receptors take the signals, and through a network of nerves carry them to the brain. Does only the brain ‘feel’ the pain. Or the nerves all through also feel the pain, or the whole body, every cell, feels it? In anesthesia or when a person is unconscious, he does not feel the pain although he is fully alive and all normal bodily functions are active. That would indicate/suggest that consciousness is the perceiver or feeler of the pain. But if the communicating nerves are numbed or cut then also the consciousness cannot feel the pain. The mind of course feels the pain in another way. When it is anxious it can panic, and the panic magnifies the nagging pain. But the main question remains as to who is the direct sufferer of the pain. Mind is part of consciousness. Is the mind the feeler as well as the sufferer? The whole question is intriguing and requires unraveling.
Professor Sankarankutty remarked that there arises the age-old question of the observer and the observed. Who is the observer of the pain? The pain is objectified here, and there is always a distance between the observer and the pain that is being observed. Here, it is not a detached observation. The space between the pain and the feeler of pain is much reduced. Is the pain itself then the feeler of pain and also the consciousness at the moment of pain? There is also the question what is consciousness? Is it synonymous with awareness? And is not consciousness or awareness of something different from pure awareness/ pure consciousness without an object?
All these questions are left for deeper thought and later discussion.
After the Forum’s invocation, the discussion was continued by Dr. Babu Ravindran.
Dr. Babu Ravindran: Generally speaking, pain is an unpleasant sensation located in a part of the body. It’s positive aspect is that it is a protective mechanism meant for preservation of life.
There are two types of pain in general, described as penetrating or emotional. The penetrating type is tissue destructive and can be variously described as stabbing, burning, twisting, tearing, or squeezing. The emotional type is felt as extreme discomfort or uneasiness. Some pain of higher intensity is accompanied by anxiety, and an urge to escape or to terminate the feeling. The duality of Pain is that it involves both sensation and emotion.
When pain is acute it is characteristically associated with behavioral arousal and stress response like Increased Blood Pressure and heart rate, and Cortisol Release. In addition, local muscle contraction, viz., limb flexion and muscle rigidity are present. These responses are necessary for immobilization and protection of the affected part of the body.
How is the pain perceived? There are specialized nerve cells or neurons called receptors throughout the body. Pain receptors are part of the peripheral nervous system consisting of sensory nerves, motor nerves and sympathetic nerves. The receptors sense the pain impulses and pass them on to the sensory nerves. The sensory nerves pass on the impulses to the spinal chord or the brain. After processing by the network of nerves in the brain or spinal chord the instructions for action are passed on through the motor nerves to the various parts of the body. When there is very sudden detection of pain the impulses do not go all the way to the brain. Quick and immediate instructions for reaction go from the spinal chord itself. This results in what is called Reflex Action. It is a reflex arc from receptors to the sensory nerves to spine to motor nerve and the executing tissues. An example can be seen in the functioning of bladder muscles when it is full. The immediacy of the sensation to pass urine goes as impulses to the spinal chord and if the pathways to the brain are blocked or injured, reflex action works, and immediate instruction to hold the urine goes to the bladder muscles at once from the spinal cord itself.
Peripheral nerves are of three different types. 1. Sensory afferent 2. Motor efferent, and, 3. Sympathetic. The sensory nerves are afferent in the sense that impulses are directed towards the spinal cord. The cell body of the sensory nerve is the dorsal root ganglia. Axon of the nerve bifurcates into two, one going to spinal cord and the other to the tissue. Impulses from the organs of the body are passed on to the central nervous system by these nerves. The motor neurons on the other hand pass on impulses of instructions from the central nervous system to parts of the body. The sympathetic nerves help carry out the involuntary functions.
The vertebra protects the spinal cord. The sensory nerves are in the posterior of the spinal cord, and the motor nerves in the anterior. Similarly the sensory cortex is in the posterior part of the cortex of each hemisphere of the brain, and the motor cortex is in the anterior part. The main nerves go out from the spinal cord towards various parts of the body through the gaps in the vertebra called the Intervertebral foramen.
Nerves in general are of three different types, viz. A beta, A delta, and C.
Ab type of nerves is of large diameter, and carries the light touch. It is not associated with deeper pain but is present in superficial pain (minimal pain) and skin numbness.
Ad type is myelinated (i.e. sheathed), of small diameter, fastest and very sensitive. Pain is felt by this nerve much more than by other types.
C type is unmyelinated. It is also pain sensitive but to a lesser degree than type Ad. It has pain receptors called noceceptors
If the Ad type and C type are blocked, the ability to detect pain is abolished. But if Ab is blocked the pain will still be there unless the nerve itself is damaged.
When there is tissue injury, what are called inflammatory mediators like prostaglandins, bradykinins, and leukotrines are released. The presence of these creates more pain. This process is called sensitization. The affected area becomes more sensitive. Histamines are also produced. contributing to the increased pain. A typical example is the sunburned skin.
The sensory receptors called Noceceptors contain mediator polypeptides, like for example, a neuro transmitter called Substance P, which is also a vasodilator, contributing to increased pain. If substance p is blocked pain is decreased
Pain is not felt alike in all parts of the body. Intestines feel a pain only when it is stretched, not when it is cut. Although the brain perceives all pain, the brain material itself has no pain. Only the meninges, the outer covering membrane feels the pain.
.
Then there is what is called Referred Pain. Sometimes when there is some visceral damage at or near the diaphragm, pain is felt at the shoulder skin. This is because the skin over the shoulder, and the diaphragm, has the same nerve supply. Their common blood supply is through cervical nerves C3 and C4.
We have all noticed that often fear and agony arise when a person is in pain. A reason for this can be found in the pattern of the nerve supply to the brain. Pain signals pass through the spinal tract called the Dorsal Spino-thalamus Tract and reach the Thalami. From the Thalamus the impulses go to the Sensory Cortex through the third order nerves. Now, the sensory cortex that senses the pain is pure sensation, and not emotion. But from the Thalamus the pain signals not only go to the sensory cortex but also go simultaneously to the area in the brain called the Cingulate Gyrum linked to emotional receptors. Emotions like fear are thus triggered when pain is felt.
Pain Modulation: BEECHER’S World War II Survey found on investigation that some of the injured soldiers felt no pain in war although they had been feeling even minor pain in their house in peacetime. Actually it is the expectation of pain that induced pain without any noxious stimuli that is normally responsible for the sensation of pain. The brain does this by a sort of selective control of the pain transmitting nerves. When the brain expect pain the circuits starts the operation of modulation of the transmitting pathways that have links to hypothalami, mid-brain, and medulla The brain circuits have thus control over the pain transmitting neurons. In war the brain utilizes this facility for relieving of pain. The brain circuits cause the release of pain relieving chemicals like. bEndorphin and Enkephalin. These chemicals are absorbed by the ‘opioid receptors’, so called because the chemicals Endorphin and Enkephalin are similar to natural Opioids.
Neuropathic pain: Damage or dysfunction of a portion of a nerve produce pain. This is called neuropathic pain. An example is the pain due to the disease called Herpes Zoster. A person who is healed of Chicken Pox is not always free of the pox virus. Some of the virus get into the Ganglia of the patient and lies there dormant till the system becomes weak and vulnerable. Then the disease comes out erupting along the path of a particular nerve affected by the virus. There are thus painful eruptions of a particular nature and pattern along the path of the nerve. This is only one of the examples of neuropathic pain.
Ischaemic Pain: When the required blood supply does not reach a part of the body derangement of metabolism happens to that part, and the neurons in the area are affected thus producing pain. An example of ischaemic pain is Angina Pectoris. Lactate and Pyroate, which are pain-producing chemicals, accumulate in the affected part of the body causing pain.
ekkentros free thoughts - pain
Dr.Thomas: The feeling of pain being very subjective, it is very difficult for others to assess the extent of pain when a patient complains of it. In many a court case the judge has asked, ‘how do you know that the patient was in pain?’ When a patient is constantly complaining of pain and is persistent in asserting that he is in pain although no apparent symptoms could be detected, it is usual to consult more than one doctor to establish the existence of pain. If two doctors agree it is usual to accept that the pain is real. Pain is different from tenderness. Sometimes there may be tenderness at a spot in the body without any accompanying pain. The patient could be malingering.
The extent of pain felt depends upon several factors. In order to ascertain the type and nature of the pain, the doctor asks a series of questions. Does the pain continue while resting, and does it disturb sleep? Does it interfere with daily routines, eating etc? Is it moderate or intense? Is it spread out or located at a particular place or point? Is it moving or stationary? Individual perceptions of pain are generally different. Apart from that, different parts of the body have different levels of sensitivity to pain. The somatic areas feel pains more intensely. Tooth ache and ear pain are more difficult to bear. The tip of the finger is more sensitive than any other part of the body. Middle part of the fingers is dull. The ends of the body have to protect the whole system and have therefore more supply of nerves. It is the nature’s blessing and is also thus anatomically explained. Then there are referred pains. For example, the tip of the shoulder may feel an acute pain while the problem may be at the back of the neck. Referred pain is also associated with sweating and fainting accompanied by Brady kinesis (abnormal sluggishness of physical movement).
Moods of the mind affect the feeling of pain. Endorphins secreted in happy moods reduce the pain considerably. There is also what is called the gateway theory of pain in which not only the secretions of morphine and endorphin are stimulated to reduce the pain but also the cycle or pathway of pain is broken to make the pain disappear. Acupuncture is supposed to use this theory in which the patient has a funny feeling passing through the place of pain by way of anesthesia.
Rishis and mendicants sitting or sleeping on nails is a well-known image. Some say they are punishing themselves to exhaust their sins. Others say that they are disciplining their body by inflicting pain and get some sort of pleasure out of it. Or else they are observing and studying the nature and behaviour of pain.
Sadistic criminals marvel in inflicting the worst type of pain on their victims. They invent newer and crueler methods of creating pain including those, which are psychological. Psychologists say that children who suffer severe punishments and cruelty early in life turn into sadistic criminals on becoming adults.
Some saints and monks are said to be in an ecstatic state even while they are in pain. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa is an example. Research has shown that when certain areas of the brain are touched by probes, ecstatic feeling would result. Maharshis are said to have the capacity to create such ecstasy on their own mental or meditative power. For those who are in search of Truth, lack of knowledge itself is pain.
As regards animals and plants, there are reasons to believe that all living things have pain to some degree or other. Scientist J.C.Bose had proved that plants too react to pain and pleasure. Plant researchers found that in the case of certain plants in Africa, pollination happens when women walk between the plants touching them. These indicate that plants also have sensitivity.
At the physical level, anxiety neurosis, depression and pain are attributable to the lack or balances in the supply of certain chemicals like say serotonin. Chemical changes in the brain can induce a person even to commit suicide. But at the spiritual level pain and mental agony are said to arise from desire and undue expectation as explained in Buddha’s Philosophy. Desire can create pain in the minds of even great achievers. It is said that Einstein was in great agony at the last moments because he could not complete some research.
Fear, especially fear of death is another factor that creates mental pain. The concepts of Ghosts and other unearthly beings have arisen from such painful emotion.
Anesthetics are useful to relieve physical pain. Alcohol, if not misused can take away grief, aches and pains to some extent. Drugs are used to give relief from physical pain.
Pains, physical and mental are there from the beginning of this world and have to be put up with. As a mythical saying goes, God has created the world and put it into motion, and then gone to sleep. It is moving according to the laws laid down. Is pain part of the Rules of Nature?
Dr.Sadanandan: Pain is a sensation with an emotional component. Both the sensation and the emotion are unpleasant. Therefore it is avoided. ‘Avoid it’, says the mind. Several things are done by doctors in an attempt to alleviate it. The emotional aspect of pain is generated from the physical. Pain, physical or mental, is thus a living thing for each individual. One has to endure the physical and somehow escape the emotional. The mind always wants to avoid the emotional pain.
How to avoid the mental/emotional pain has been the problem of Man all along. We have depended on so many things trying to find out how to avoid pain. But who gives the answer? We ask the question to somebody else. Man sought knowledge and answer from others, who are supposed to know the answer. But we have not succeeded in getting any satisfactory answer. Some seers have passed on some techniques of meditation. The methods prompt me to find out the answer for myself. One must acquire some method of one’s own to find out how to avoid pain altogether.
I then come to the conclusion that I must have some superior faculty of my own to find out an answer to the problem. What quality of my own can give a method to achieve that superior faculty? If there is a method what is it? I must find it. But is it within the purview of thought or outside or above it? This seems to be our quest here. This can be a basis of our discussion here.
Prof.Sankarankutty: Experience of pain is strictly subjective and its expression is through symptoms, gestures, sounds, body postures and the like. When the intensity is communicated through words, gestures and sounds like screams we, the observers, also experience it indirectly. The sufferer of the pain is thus an object to the observer, although his own experience of the reflected pain is still subjective for him. In short we the onlookers ‘objectify’ the pain through our empathy, to understand the pain of the sufferer. From this originated some great Art. The greatest examples are the artistic works of high dramatic expressions that we find in the Greek Tragedies.
In most of the great Greek Tragedies, a person of eminence is passing through high mental suffering and physical pain. This pain is expressed and communicated with aesthetic effect through high drama to induce pain in the onlookers. The intensity of pain is thus objectified for the viewers in order to understand the real nature of pain. From this understanding arose beauty and the aesthetic experience.
To understand the structure of pain we have to look at our pain right when we are in the midst of it. But can we pay attention to the structure and behaviour of our own pain when we are in it? We cannot. Therefore it is necessary for some body else to objectify the type of pain to us in order for us to understand it. The Greeks used this need of people to create the great tragedies and to communicate the structure of pain through aesthetic expression.
Pain has a physical component and an emotional component. It is the emotional component that is dealt with in the tragedies. The height of human suffering on the emotional and mental level is revealed for the audience in some of the dramas like those of Sophocles. In his drama Oedipus Rex, Oedipus, the king, unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother and even has children by her. When he finally realizes the truth any remedy is agonizingly beyond reach. He blinds himself, and his wife commits suicide. The uncertainty of human suffering is beyond comprehension. The suffering is enacted on stage exploring the structure of pain. The pain is passed on or communicated to the audience in micro-doses so that it could be understood by identification and appraisal. Finally in a catharsis the inner dimension of pain becomes apparent. It is a way of understanding pain, understanding life itself, by the process of objectification.
It is strikingly noticeable that in Eastern dramatic tradition there is practically no work of great tragedy. The reason probably is the spiritual background of the East. The ultimate that we seek is ‘Moksha’ or liberation from the worldly affairs treating tragedies of life as part of the process of advancing towards that liberation. Or such pain was attributed to Fate. Westerners had no such props to fall back on and therefore were more sensitive to tragedies that were beyond their comprehension.
In one of John Milton’s masterpieces Samson Agonistes the dramatist tries to show that purification of the mind takes place in tragic suffering helping the incumbent in the process to achieve calmness. Consciousness expands while pain touches the mind. The glory of Christ is in his acceptance of the spiritual pain of Man while he underwent the physical pain willingly and transcended it. Understanding pain brings forth compassion.
Another aspect of pain is that it has been always an inspiration for creativity. As a subject for creative writers and artists, the contribution of pain is unparalleled. It is almost the starting point of creativity. Pain is the lens of the microscope through which the aesthetic mind views the Universal Man.
As regards the individual, it is through personal pain, a father or son dying, a failure in love, a sudden sickness or some such suffering that he is starts looking at the universe, and the reality in the uncertainty of life in it. In a war there is great suffering, and shades of emotions become highlighted. Highly sensitive artists and writers express these emotions in visual form and succeed in communicating the intensity of painful emotions. An example is the powerful imagery created by the painter Monk titled ‘The Scream’, that really screams at the viewers offering no explanation. None is needed.
The extent of pain felt depends upon several factors. In order to ascertain the type and nature of the pain, the doctor asks a series of questions. Does the pain continue while resting, and does it disturb sleep? Does it interfere with daily routines, eating etc? Is it moderate or intense? Is it spread out or located at a particular place or point? Is it moving or stationary? Individual perceptions of pain are generally different. Apart from that, different parts of the body have different levels of sensitivity to pain. The somatic areas feel pains more intensely. Tooth ache and ear pain are more difficult to bear. The tip of the finger is more sensitive than any other part of the body. Middle part of the fingers is dull. The ends of the body have to protect the whole system and have therefore more supply of nerves. It is the nature’s blessing and is also thus anatomically explained. Then there are referred pains. For example, the tip of the shoulder may feel an acute pain while the problem may be at the back of the neck. Referred pain is also associated with sweating and fainting accompanied by Brady kinesis (abnormal sluggishness of physical movement).
Moods of the mind affect the feeling of pain. Endorphins secreted in happy moods reduce the pain considerably. There is also what is called the gateway theory of pain in which not only the secretions of morphine and endorphin are stimulated to reduce the pain but also the cycle or pathway of pain is broken to make the pain disappear. Acupuncture is supposed to use this theory in which the patient has a funny feeling passing through the place of pain by way of anesthesia.
Rishis and mendicants sitting or sleeping on nails is a well-known image. Some say they are punishing themselves to exhaust their sins. Others say that they are disciplining their body by inflicting pain and get some sort of pleasure out of it. Or else they are observing and studying the nature and behaviour of pain.
Sadistic criminals marvel in inflicting the worst type of pain on their victims. They invent newer and crueler methods of creating pain including those, which are psychological. Psychologists say that children who suffer severe punishments and cruelty early in life turn into sadistic criminals on becoming adults.
Some saints and monks are said to be in an ecstatic state even while they are in pain. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa is an example. Research has shown that when certain areas of the brain are touched by probes, ecstatic feeling would result. Maharshis are said to have the capacity to create such ecstasy on their own mental or meditative power. For those who are in search of Truth, lack of knowledge itself is pain.
As regards animals and plants, there are reasons to believe that all living things have pain to some degree or other. Scientist J.C.Bose had proved that plants too react to pain and pleasure. Plant researchers found that in the case of certain plants in Africa, pollination happens when women walk between the plants touching them. These indicate that plants also have sensitivity.
At the physical level, anxiety neurosis, depression and pain are attributable to the lack or balances in the supply of certain chemicals like say serotonin. Chemical changes in the brain can induce a person even to commit suicide. But at the spiritual level pain and mental agony are said to arise from desire and undue expectation as explained in Buddha’s Philosophy. Desire can create pain in the minds of even great achievers. It is said that Einstein was in great agony at the last moments because he could not complete some research.
Fear, especially fear of death is another factor that creates mental pain. The concepts of Ghosts and other unearthly beings have arisen from such painful emotion.
Anesthetics are useful to relieve physical pain. Alcohol, if not misused can take away grief, aches and pains to some extent. Drugs are used to give relief from physical pain.
Pains, physical and mental are there from the beginning of this world and have to be put up with. As a mythical saying goes, God has created the world and put it into motion, and then gone to sleep. It is moving according to the laws laid down. Is pain part of the Rules of Nature?
Dr.Sadanandan: Pain is a sensation with an emotional component. Both the sensation and the emotion are unpleasant. Therefore it is avoided. ‘Avoid it’, says the mind. Several things are done by doctors in an attempt to alleviate it. The emotional aspect of pain is generated from the physical. Pain, physical or mental, is thus a living thing for each individual. One has to endure the physical and somehow escape the emotional. The mind always wants to avoid the emotional pain.
How to avoid the mental/emotional pain has been the problem of Man all along. We have depended on so many things trying to find out how to avoid pain. But who gives the answer? We ask the question to somebody else. Man sought knowledge and answer from others, who are supposed to know the answer. But we have not succeeded in getting any satisfactory answer. Some seers have passed on some techniques of meditation. The methods prompt me to find out the answer for myself. One must acquire some method of one’s own to find out how to avoid pain altogether.
I then come to the conclusion that I must have some superior faculty of my own to find out an answer to the problem. What quality of my own can give a method to achieve that superior faculty? If there is a method what is it? I must find it. But is it within the purview of thought or outside or above it? This seems to be our quest here. This can be a basis of our discussion here.
Prof.Sankarankutty: Experience of pain is strictly subjective and its expression is through symptoms, gestures, sounds, body postures and the like. When the intensity is communicated through words, gestures and sounds like screams we, the observers, also experience it indirectly. The sufferer of the pain is thus an object to the observer, although his own experience of the reflected pain is still subjective for him. In short we the onlookers ‘objectify’ the pain through our empathy, to understand the pain of the sufferer. From this originated some great Art. The greatest examples are the artistic works of high dramatic expressions that we find in the Greek Tragedies.
In most of the great Greek Tragedies, a person of eminence is passing through high mental suffering and physical pain. This pain is expressed and communicated with aesthetic effect through high drama to induce pain in the onlookers. The intensity of pain is thus objectified for the viewers in order to understand the real nature of pain. From this understanding arose beauty and the aesthetic experience.
To understand the structure of pain we have to look at our pain right when we are in the midst of it. But can we pay attention to the structure and behaviour of our own pain when we are in it? We cannot. Therefore it is necessary for some body else to objectify the type of pain to us in order for us to understand it. The Greeks used this need of people to create the great tragedies and to communicate the structure of pain through aesthetic expression.
Pain has a physical component and an emotional component. It is the emotional component that is dealt with in the tragedies. The height of human suffering on the emotional and mental level is revealed for the audience in some of the dramas like those of Sophocles. In his drama Oedipus Rex, Oedipus, the king, unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother and even has children by her. When he finally realizes the truth any remedy is agonizingly beyond reach. He blinds himself, and his wife commits suicide. The uncertainty of human suffering is beyond comprehension. The suffering is enacted on stage exploring the structure of pain. The pain is passed on or communicated to the audience in micro-doses so that it could be understood by identification and appraisal. Finally in a catharsis the inner dimension of pain becomes apparent. It is a way of understanding pain, understanding life itself, by the process of objectification.
It is strikingly noticeable that in Eastern dramatic tradition there is practically no work of great tragedy. The reason probably is the spiritual background of the East. The ultimate that we seek is ‘Moksha’ or liberation from the worldly affairs treating tragedies of life as part of the process of advancing towards that liberation. Or such pain was attributed to Fate. Westerners had no such props to fall back on and therefore were more sensitive to tragedies that were beyond their comprehension.
In one of John Milton’s masterpieces Samson Agonistes the dramatist tries to show that purification of the mind takes place in tragic suffering helping the incumbent in the process to achieve calmness. Consciousness expands while pain touches the mind. The glory of Christ is in his acceptance of the spiritual pain of Man while he underwent the physical pain willingly and transcended it. Understanding pain brings forth compassion.
Another aspect of pain is that it has been always an inspiration for creativity. As a subject for creative writers and artists, the contribution of pain is unparalleled. It is almost the starting point of creativity. Pain is the lens of the microscope through which the aesthetic mind views the Universal Man.
As regards the individual, it is through personal pain, a father or son dying, a failure in love, a sudden sickness or some such suffering that he is starts looking at the universe, and the reality in the uncertainty of life in it. In a war there is great suffering, and shades of emotions become highlighted. Highly sensitive artists and writers express these emotions in visual form and succeed in communicating the intensity of painful emotions. An example is the powerful imagery created by the painter Monk titled ‘The Scream’, that really screams at the viewers offering no explanation. None is needed.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
limits of freedom 2
EKKENTROS FORUM
The Matter: Report of the proceedings of the discussion held on 20-11-07(Tuesday)
Venue: Residence of Prof.Sankarankutty, Green Hills, Temple Gate..
Coram: Eight members present. Sri T.Bhaskaran, (On visit to Gulf) could not attend.
Subject: Limits of Freedom (Cont’d)
The report of the last discussion was accepted unanimously. After the Forum’s invocation the discussion on Limits of Freedom was cont’d by Prof. Richard Hay. After fellowship and an excellent dinner hosted by Mrs Sankarankutty, the meeting dispersed at 11 PM
Prof. Richard Hay: When there is a curtailment of freedom in any particular situation, it is an aberration. Such situations of aberration prevail,
When an emergency is clamped and there is abuse of power by a regime that enjoys brute force, and usurp the rights of sections of the citizens, especially the minorities, whether political, religious or otherwise,
When by using political clout, muscle power, mafia tactics, or money power, inflict pain on those who are disliked or disagree,
When the rich exploits the poor, or the whites subjugate the blacks as in the erstwhile South African apartheid, or when the big corporations exploit the gullible consumers, or
When the stronger sex exploits and abuses the weaker sex.
In ghastly situations, the freedom of the oppressed is trampled upon by the high and the mighty. There are cases when for generations, people suffered on account of continuous harassment and mental torture by those who wield power. (The lowest cast in India is an example.)
The totalitarian governments, including that of the communists always used third degree methods to silence the opposition. Hitler is a notorious example. In the words of Joseph Stalin, ‘if the opposition disarms, well and good; if it refuses, we shall disarm it ourselves’. This attitude sums up the point, and still continues in all the totalitarian countries. Now, this seems to be what is happening in our neighboring country Pakistan, where an emergency has been declared by the General and freedom curtailed.
Gentlemen, what is freedom? According to Albert Camus, “freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.” Freedom is liberty and independence. It is a state of being able to act without hindrance or restraint. Even in India, the largest democracy in the world, we had witnessed many occasions when freedom of the country were curtailed.
The best weapon of a dictatorship is secrecy, but the best weapon of a democracy should be openness and transparency as it could only guarantee freedom.
The rich countries have been curtailing the freedom of the poor countries from time immemorial by colonizing them. They have been plundering the natural resources of the poor nations. The poor people are considered by them as guinea pigs to carry out their medical and other researches. They pollute the environment, which is a serious offence that affects millions of lives of the hapless citizens of third world economies. Human right violation has been a permanent feature in the colonies of the west. In Vietnam, Iraq and other war affected countries thousands were killed by the U.S., quite often disregarding the basic human rights of civilians, especially innocent women and children.
Democracy exists and sustains only when the citizens can enjoy individual freedom pertaining to franchise. The moment freedom of choice is hampered, democracy ceases to function. It is evident that continuous rule by one party leads to anarchy and tyranny, and it suffocates freedom of choice. The electorate must have the right to choose either A or B party.
People become fed up with such regimes, and ultimately they have no other choice but to revolt. When fundamental rights of citizens are violated continuously people naturally rebel and revolt. That is what happened in some African countries like Uganda, Tanganika, Botswana, etc.
What happened in Iraq? A sovereign Govt. in power was ousted by brutal force by an alien country. Some other countries were roped in as allies by the villain, and finally it resulted in the partial extinction of a civilization on the bank of Euphrates. It points out to the fact that in a uni-polar world, without balance of power, freedom of many countries would be at stake if they do not fall in line and dance to the tune of the supreme world police of the most powerful country. Thus the future of mankind does not appear to be safe as it is.
If freedom has to be fully enjoyed by the citizenry, equality of rights has to be ensured. Everyone should be treated equal in the eyes of the law. The law of the land should be applicable to all and sundry without any difference or concession. Recently we saw in the media a poor man in Bihar being beaten up by an angry mob and then being mercilessly dragged along the public road, tied to a vehicle, all for a small minor offence. In Kerala, a pregnant poor lady was kicked at and mauled by an unruly mob. A police inspector was seen intimidating and abusing a group of people who protested against the killing of a pedestrian by a police jeep on the National Highway. These and others are instances of blatant butchery of the rights of the common man, especially that of the poor and the marginalized.
In the western world, even a President’s son, if caught for a trivial offence, is not left scot free. He is booked by the arms of the law and punished according to the law of the land. The principle of equality before law practiced in such countries has to be emulated by us in India too. In one incident, the Australian P.M. had to go to the local police station to say sorry for a minor misdeed of his son! Traffic violations are aplenty in India. In the U.S., a man with one yellow ticket is scared to commit another traffic offence. Hence, the citizen becomes more conscious of other’s rights too. Recently a German tourist wrote about his harrowing experience while traveling on Kerala roads. Pedestrians were, it seems, jumping like spider men on the roads to avoid the pits. The basic traffic rules were violated by a majority of the drivers. According to him, ‘God’s own country’s roads are worse than Devil’s own roads!’ Rules of the road are violated with immunity here compared to what is prevalent in the western world.
I had felt a curtailment of my freedom of choice when I attended the compulsory catechism class while in school. The catechism teacher used to find fault with other religions and as I detested such an attitude, I protested. I had to tell the teacher that he was simply a religious begot who was not able to appreciate the basic tenets of other religions, and that religious tolerance would have paved the way for inculcating better human values in the students. I hated his attitude and purposefully cut his classes where free thinking was taboo, and mud slinging on other religions were carried out without a prick of conscience.
One book I shall always remember, from which I learned a lesson while studying for B.Com. It is ‘On the Rule of the Road’ by A.G.Gardiner. In it he mentions about a fellow passenger in the train who was talking all the time very loudly about his family, criticizing the politicians, and passing all sorts of unsolicited comments to the other passengers. Gardiner was compelled to close his book and look out of the window. The fellow passenger who just thundered without consideration for others had no social sense, and as remarked by Gardiner he was not a ‘clubbable’ person. There is necessity to have a reasonable consideration for the rights and feelings of others. He also mentions in his book about a stout old lady walking with a basket down the middle of the street in Petrograd. When she was asked to walk on the pavement she rudely retorted that she would walk wherever she liked to walk, and that she had the liberty to walk anywhere she liked! Gardiner reflects on the episode and states that “individual liberty would become social anarchy if everyone was more concerned about individual freedom.”
It was Nietzsche who said, “Freedom is the will to be responsible to ourselves.” To enjoy freedom, regulation of conduct is an essential factor. That is why rules and regulations are framed to impose restraint on the freedom of all citizens. And it is the duty of the government to enforce the rules so that order is brought about in the society. The constitution ensures freedom and at the same time enforces a control mechanism to make the freedom effective. Freedom presupposes order and any order presupposes the ability to enforce it by rules. The fundamental quality of freedom is magnanimity- to show that much kindness as to allow the other to have his way also.
Allow me to touch upon also the academic freedom in universities and colleges. Academic freedom is intertwined with the educational policies of the central and state governments. The universities decide the syllabus after obtaining proposals from the academic bodies. But those academic bodies are the creation of the Govt. in power. They are therefore highly politicized rather than academic. The syllabus is thus framed taking into account the political interests of the ruling power, and more often catering to the interests of associations and unions ignoring the needs of the students, industrial establishments, or science and technology. The system, as it is, lacks academic freedom.
Prof. Mohanan Nair: Recently in an International survey, the list 500 independent academic institutions was published; but not even a single Indian university or institution figure in the list
Prof.Hay: Thomas Paine opines that, “He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition”. That is the real extant to which liberty and freedom are to be understood. Then what is political freedom? It is the right or capacity and the ability of self determination as an expression of individual will. Democratic nations prefer to go by this concept. But in actual practice does this occur? Coercion, intimidation, booth capturing, compulsion and fear make people cast their votes in favour of candidates whom they despise and detest. Hence the rudiments of democracy fail.
May I also touch upon the freedom of the press? A free press is the mother of all our liberties and our progress. It has been proved on many occasions that when the wheels of democracy have been put to halt, it was the press, the fourth estate that came to the rescue of the nation. When emergency was clamped on India by Indira Gandhi, the first action initiated by those in power was to gag the press. The same thing happened in Pakistan now when Mussaraf declared emergency.
Prof. Mohanan Nair: When Indira Gandhi declared emergency, only a few of the intelligentsia did or could protest. But Pakistan people are now openly protesting. They are reacting very well
Prof.sankarankutty: The world is changed. Communications are fast and wide spread. Musharraf is also cautious.
Prof. Hay: A free press is the sine quo non for the survival of a democratic polity, and the very essence of life in liberty. Let me quote, “let it be impressed upon your minds, let it be instilled into our children, that the liberty of the press is the palladium of all the civil, political and religious rights” .In Kerala, if the party newspaper which claims that they only publish the truth, was the only source available for news in the state, we would have never have known the real truth of any matter. Luckily there are a few other dailies also circulating news. Hence different shades of the same truth can be known to weed out any falsehood. In Totalitarian regimes, they have only one newspaper, the organ of the Govt. in power. Hence the citizenry can only obtain the views expressed by the state and party in power. There is neither freedom of expression nor freedom of choice to elect a democratic Govt. The press has to play a significant role in serving as a forum of the people, through which the people may know freely what is happening in the state. It is again the power of the pen that has changed the fate of many nations, inspired several landmark reforms, and saved countries from tyranny. The protest of the citizens projected through the press has even resulted in changing laws to bring about positive changes in the society. If we look into the mechanics of governance, even in a democratic system, it is simply left in the hands of certain specialists who focus too narrowly on their respective areas of interest, ignoring the larger interests and well being of the society. The loyal, law abiding and peace loving citizens who believe that everything is in order, are literally fooled by the Government. On many occasions we have invariably seen a newly elected Govt. instituting enquiry commissions to unearth the clandestine and corrupt deals and mis-deeds of the previous Govt. If there is a free press that acts like a guardian angel of the conscience of the citizenry, then the Govt. in power will be compelled to avoid many blatantly corrupt practices. In fact, press possesses the creative acumen to protect the society from the debasing evil practices of the Govt. in power.
Now, let me consider an issue on which the catholic church has a clearly dogmatic view. It is about abortion. The Catholic Church is totally against abortion. Abortion is foeticide and, according to the Church it is a crime. Don’t you think that it is the right of a woman to avoid giving birth to an unwanted child? If people follow the dictum of the Church, then countries like India and China would become too much overpopulated adding to their miseries and forcing them to find food for a few more millions of people. In India, families, especially in the north, often snuff out the lives of girl children before or after birth, since for many, a girl child is a liability. But, as the Church puts it, the foetus, like the infant, is a living being and has every right to live. And as it is incapable to exercise its right by itself, one cannot destroy it by aborting for economic or other reasons. Therefore, like the woman who has a right to abort a foetus, the foetus too has a right to live. Thus there is a conflict of interests between the mother and the unborn child. Whose right should a civilized society protect? Is it the mother’s right to dispense with the infant/foetus, or the infant’s right to live – which one should be protected on moral, ethical, and humane grounds?
Another limit to freedom that comes to my mind is that of euthanasia. Can one who is terminally ill, one who is really fed up with the pain and suffering of life from cancer, acute diabetes, or some other dangerous diseases, be allowed to exercise his freedom to end his life by the practice of euthanasia?
Then there is also the question of the freedom of artists and painters like M.F.Hussain. Protests and controversy arose when the world famous artist painted ‘nude’ pictures of Hindu Goddess. Vehement protests and threats came up internationally when some Danish and Norwegian newspapers published caricatures of Prophet Mohammed. In our own state, a big noise was made by groups of Christians when the C.P,I,(M) secretary made an unwholesome remark about a bishop. Definitely, desecration of religious beliefs and using offensive language against religious heads, gods and masters do cross the boundaries of decency. Recently the Pope had to apologize to the Muslim world for his remarks made about medieval Muslim practices. People have a right not to be abused, insulted, or tarnished by others, either by careless or by deliberate uttering. For building better human relationships, some practical tips can help for the right use of meaningful freedom of expression. Let me mention them here,1. Think of a situation when other people upset you and make you stressed. Now think about what your expectations are. Are they realistic? 2. Remind yourself each day to stop judging others too harshly.3. Train yourself to give the benefit of doubt to others by understanding their situation, before jumping into negative criticism, i.e., reduce the negativity of your reaction.
Let me finally conclude by quoting the words of Stienbeck:
“That the free exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for, the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against, any idea, religion or government which limits or destroys the individual.”
Luckily for us, Ekkentros is a genial platform which stands for free thinking.
K.V.Kunhikrishnan: In the beginning of our discussions Dr. Babu Ravindran pointed out that there are three types of freedom, the physical, the mental, and the spiritual. All have their own limits. The physical freedom can be equated with political liberty in which men are free to do anything to sustain his life so long as his freedom does not adversely affect the freedom of others. For this, state makes common laws which the people are bound to follow. Within the four walls of the law, which are the limits, people enjoy their freedom. Freedom from want, freedom from disease, freedom of expression etc. are part of the physical freedom. this freedom and its limits have now been elaborately explained by Prof. Hay.
Mental freedom is the capacity for unbiased free thinking. But this capacity is absolutely limited because the mind from birth is cluttered up with all kinds of notions and belief put in there by parents, teachers, elders, and others. Mind is controlled by one’s religion also. Unless one is free of all these notions and beliefs, one cannot be free in his thoughts. Of course, read everything, hear all what others have to say, and understand them also fully. But for being free everything has to be questioned with an open mind, analyzing every bit of ideas and thoughts, accepting only facts and rejecting falsehoods and doubtful notions. This one should actually start as soon as one becomes an adult. A willingness to find truth may help. Capacity for discrimination will be required. For recognizing facts from fiction, the only thing one can rely on is one’s own direct perceptions, and intuitive understanding if available. The main difficulty of man today seems to be an undeveloped insight or intuition. Too much stress has been made on logic and reasoning, which, although have helped man in scientific development, are actually only instruments for verification of intuitively obtained ideas.
Spiritual freedom is entirely different. We can equate it with absolute freedom or reality itself. The physical and mental aspects, both are bondages to it. Human body is a major limitation and bondage to man’s spiritual freedom as pointed out by Dr. Sadanandan. And a mind in the bondage of all kinds of thoughts and beliefs is another major hurdle in Man’s path towards absolute freedom. Once attained, as claimed by the great masters, body, mind, or intellect is no more a restriction or bondage. In spite of them one is free because the freedom is beyond the body and mind that are still functioning in tact, perhaps more efficiently.
What one can do in the circumstances is only to strive to completely understand the bondage, limitations, and restrictions of the body and mind including the intellect, and try to go beyond them.
The question may still remain why one should have absolute freedom at all? Why chase the will o’ the wisp, the mirage? The answer is that only those who need it crave for it, like all other freedoms. The question what is this life and what all this phenomena is about, looms large, and this Damocles’ sword always hangs above his head. In the Bhagavad Geeta, it is said that four types of people crave God, the suffering, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of wealth, and the wise. Why not claim to be wise?
Dr. Babu Ravindran: When one is free his responsibility increases proportionately.
Dr. Thomas: In contrast, a dog is very uncomfortable when free. It does not want to be free. Its attitude is, ‘have I erred? Why do you want me to be free? I have surrendered to you’. It has to surrender to a superior being. Another aspect of the same is in the tradition of Travencore Maharajhas in prostrating completely before Sri Padmanabhaswami in an attitude of absolute surrender, which tradition was started by Raja Marthanda Varma. After he won his battle he threw his sword and surrendered everything to the deity.
Prof. Mohanan Nair: Emperor Asoka did the same thing after he won his war and saw the wanton destruction that it brought about.
Sri. Kunhikrishnan: On ultimate surrender the person who has surrendered has no more any responsibility. All responsibility is passed on to the person or entity to whom surrendered.
The Matter: Report of the proceedings of the discussion held on 20-11-07(Tuesday)
Venue: Residence of Prof.Sankarankutty, Green Hills, Temple Gate..
Coram: Eight members present. Sri T.Bhaskaran, (On visit to Gulf) could not attend.
Subject: Limits of Freedom (Cont’d)
The report of the last discussion was accepted unanimously. After the Forum’s invocation the discussion on Limits of Freedom was cont’d by Prof. Richard Hay. After fellowship and an excellent dinner hosted by Mrs Sankarankutty, the meeting dispersed at 11 PM
Prof. Richard Hay: When there is a curtailment of freedom in any particular situation, it is an aberration. Such situations of aberration prevail,
When an emergency is clamped and there is abuse of power by a regime that enjoys brute force, and usurp the rights of sections of the citizens, especially the minorities, whether political, religious or otherwise,
When by using political clout, muscle power, mafia tactics, or money power, inflict pain on those who are disliked or disagree,
When the rich exploits the poor, or the whites subjugate the blacks as in the erstwhile South African apartheid, or when the big corporations exploit the gullible consumers, or
When the stronger sex exploits and abuses the weaker sex.
In ghastly situations, the freedom of the oppressed is trampled upon by the high and the mighty. There are cases when for generations, people suffered on account of continuous harassment and mental torture by those who wield power. (The lowest cast in India is an example.)
The totalitarian governments, including that of the communists always used third degree methods to silence the opposition. Hitler is a notorious example. In the words of Joseph Stalin, ‘if the opposition disarms, well and good; if it refuses, we shall disarm it ourselves’. This attitude sums up the point, and still continues in all the totalitarian countries. Now, this seems to be what is happening in our neighboring country Pakistan, where an emergency has been declared by the General and freedom curtailed.
Gentlemen, what is freedom? According to Albert Camus, “freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.” Freedom is liberty and independence. It is a state of being able to act without hindrance or restraint. Even in India, the largest democracy in the world, we had witnessed many occasions when freedom of the country were curtailed.
The best weapon of a dictatorship is secrecy, but the best weapon of a democracy should be openness and transparency as it could only guarantee freedom.
The rich countries have been curtailing the freedom of the poor countries from time immemorial by colonizing them. They have been plundering the natural resources of the poor nations. The poor people are considered by them as guinea pigs to carry out their medical and other researches. They pollute the environment, which is a serious offence that affects millions of lives of the hapless citizens of third world economies. Human right violation has been a permanent feature in the colonies of the west. In Vietnam, Iraq and other war affected countries thousands were killed by the U.S., quite often disregarding the basic human rights of civilians, especially innocent women and children.
Democracy exists and sustains only when the citizens can enjoy individual freedom pertaining to franchise. The moment freedom of choice is hampered, democracy ceases to function. It is evident that continuous rule by one party leads to anarchy and tyranny, and it suffocates freedom of choice. The electorate must have the right to choose either A or B party.
People become fed up with such regimes, and ultimately they have no other choice but to revolt. When fundamental rights of citizens are violated continuously people naturally rebel and revolt. That is what happened in some African countries like Uganda, Tanganika, Botswana, etc.
What happened in Iraq? A sovereign Govt. in power was ousted by brutal force by an alien country. Some other countries were roped in as allies by the villain, and finally it resulted in the partial extinction of a civilization on the bank of Euphrates. It points out to the fact that in a uni-polar world, without balance of power, freedom of many countries would be at stake if they do not fall in line and dance to the tune of the supreme world police of the most powerful country. Thus the future of mankind does not appear to be safe as it is.
If freedom has to be fully enjoyed by the citizenry, equality of rights has to be ensured. Everyone should be treated equal in the eyes of the law. The law of the land should be applicable to all and sundry without any difference or concession. Recently we saw in the media a poor man in Bihar being beaten up by an angry mob and then being mercilessly dragged along the public road, tied to a vehicle, all for a small minor offence. In Kerala, a pregnant poor lady was kicked at and mauled by an unruly mob. A police inspector was seen intimidating and abusing a group of people who protested against the killing of a pedestrian by a police jeep on the National Highway. These and others are instances of blatant butchery of the rights of the common man, especially that of the poor and the marginalized.
In the western world, even a President’s son, if caught for a trivial offence, is not left scot free. He is booked by the arms of the law and punished according to the law of the land. The principle of equality before law practiced in such countries has to be emulated by us in India too. In one incident, the Australian P.M. had to go to the local police station to say sorry for a minor misdeed of his son! Traffic violations are aplenty in India. In the U.S., a man with one yellow ticket is scared to commit another traffic offence. Hence, the citizen becomes more conscious of other’s rights too. Recently a German tourist wrote about his harrowing experience while traveling on Kerala roads. Pedestrians were, it seems, jumping like spider men on the roads to avoid the pits. The basic traffic rules were violated by a majority of the drivers. According to him, ‘God’s own country’s roads are worse than Devil’s own roads!’ Rules of the road are violated with immunity here compared to what is prevalent in the western world.
I had felt a curtailment of my freedom of choice when I attended the compulsory catechism class while in school. The catechism teacher used to find fault with other religions and as I detested such an attitude, I protested. I had to tell the teacher that he was simply a religious begot who was not able to appreciate the basic tenets of other religions, and that religious tolerance would have paved the way for inculcating better human values in the students. I hated his attitude and purposefully cut his classes where free thinking was taboo, and mud slinging on other religions were carried out without a prick of conscience.
One book I shall always remember, from which I learned a lesson while studying for B.Com. It is ‘On the Rule of the Road’ by A.G.Gardiner. In it he mentions about a fellow passenger in the train who was talking all the time very loudly about his family, criticizing the politicians, and passing all sorts of unsolicited comments to the other passengers. Gardiner was compelled to close his book and look out of the window. The fellow passenger who just thundered without consideration for others had no social sense, and as remarked by Gardiner he was not a ‘clubbable’ person. There is necessity to have a reasonable consideration for the rights and feelings of others. He also mentions in his book about a stout old lady walking with a basket down the middle of the street in Petrograd. When she was asked to walk on the pavement she rudely retorted that she would walk wherever she liked to walk, and that she had the liberty to walk anywhere she liked! Gardiner reflects on the episode and states that “individual liberty would become social anarchy if everyone was more concerned about individual freedom.”
It was Nietzsche who said, “Freedom is the will to be responsible to ourselves.” To enjoy freedom, regulation of conduct is an essential factor. That is why rules and regulations are framed to impose restraint on the freedom of all citizens. And it is the duty of the government to enforce the rules so that order is brought about in the society. The constitution ensures freedom and at the same time enforces a control mechanism to make the freedom effective. Freedom presupposes order and any order presupposes the ability to enforce it by rules. The fundamental quality of freedom is magnanimity- to show that much kindness as to allow the other to have his way also.
Allow me to touch upon also the academic freedom in universities and colleges. Academic freedom is intertwined with the educational policies of the central and state governments. The universities decide the syllabus after obtaining proposals from the academic bodies. But those academic bodies are the creation of the Govt. in power. They are therefore highly politicized rather than academic. The syllabus is thus framed taking into account the political interests of the ruling power, and more often catering to the interests of associations and unions ignoring the needs of the students, industrial establishments, or science and technology. The system, as it is, lacks academic freedom.
Prof. Mohanan Nair: Recently in an International survey, the list 500 independent academic institutions was published; but not even a single Indian university or institution figure in the list
Prof.Hay: Thomas Paine opines that, “He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition”. That is the real extant to which liberty and freedom are to be understood. Then what is political freedom? It is the right or capacity and the ability of self determination as an expression of individual will. Democratic nations prefer to go by this concept. But in actual practice does this occur? Coercion, intimidation, booth capturing, compulsion and fear make people cast their votes in favour of candidates whom they despise and detest. Hence the rudiments of democracy fail.
May I also touch upon the freedom of the press? A free press is the mother of all our liberties and our progress. It has been proved on many occasions that when the wheels of democracy have been put to halt, it was the press, the fourth estate that came to the rescue of the nation. When emergency was clamped on India by Indira Gandhi, the first action initiated by those in power was to gag the press. The same thing happened in Pakistan now when Mussaraf declared emergency.
Prof. Mohanan Nair: When Indira Gandhi declared emergency, only a few of the intelligentsia did or could protest. But Pakistan people are now openly protesting. They are reacting very well
Prof.sankarankutty: The world is changed. Communications are fast and wide spread. Musharraf is also cautious.
Prof. Hay: A free press is the sine quo non for the survival of a democratic polity, and the very essence of life in liberty. Let me quote, “let it be impressed upon your minds, let it be instilled into our children, that the liberty of the press is the palladium of all the civil, political and religious rights” .In Kerala, if the party newspaper which claims that they only publish the truth, was the only source available for news in the state, we would have never have known the real truth of any matter. Luckily there are a few other dailies also circulating news. Hence different shades of the same truth can be known to weed out any falsehood. In Totalitarian regimes, they have only one newspaper, the organ of the Govt. in power. Hence the citizenry can only obtain the views expressed by the state and party in power. There is neither freedom of expression nor freedom of choice to elect a democratic Govt. The press has to play a significant role in serving as a forum of the people, through which the people may know freely what is happening in the state. It is again the power of the pen that has changed the fate of many nations, inspired several landmark reforms, and saved countries from tyranny. The protest of the citizens projected through the press has even resulted in changing laws to bring about positive changes in the society. If we look into the mechanics of governance, even in a democratic system, it is simply left in the hands of certain specialists who focus too narrowly on their respective areas of interest, ignoring the larger interests and well being of the society. The loyal, law abiding and peace loving citizens who believe that everything is in order, are literally fooled by the Government. On many occasions we have invariably seen a newly elected Govt. instituting enquiry commissions to unearth the clandestine and corrupt deals and mis-deeds of the previous Govt. If there is a free press that acts like a guardian angel of the conscience of the citizenry, then the Govt. in power will be compelled to avoid many blatantly corrupt practices. In fact, press possesses the creative acumen to protect the society from the debasing evil practices of the Govt. in power.
Now, let me consider an issue on which the catholic church has a clearly dogmatic view. It is about abortion. The Catholic Church is totally against abortion. Abortion is foeticide and, according to the Church it is a crime. Don’t you think that it is the right of a woman to avoid giving birth to an unwanted child? If people follow the dictum of the Church, then countries like India and China would become too much overpopulated adding to their miseries and forcing them to find food for a few more millions of people. In India, families, especially in the north, often snuff out the lives of girl children before or after birth, since for many, a girl child is a liability. But, as the Church puts it, the foetus, like the infant, is a living being and has every right to live. And as it is incapable to exercise its right by itself, one cannot destroy it by aborting for economic or other reasons. Therefore, like the woman who has a right to abort a foetus, the foetus too has a right to live. Thus there is a conflict of interests between the mother and the unborn child. Whose right should a civilized society protect? Is it the mother’s right to dispense with the infant/foetus, or the infant’s right to live – which one should be protected on moral, ethical, and humane grounds?
Another limit to freedom that comes to my mind is that of euthanasia. Can one who is terminally ill, one who is really fed up with the pain and suffering of life from cancer, acute diabetes, or some other dangerous diseases, be allowed to exercise his freedom to end his life by the practice of euthanasia?
Then there is also the question of the freedom of artists and painters like M.F.Hussain. Protests and controversy arose when the world famous artist painted ‘nude’ pictures of Hindu Goddess. Vehement protests and threats came up internationally when some Danish and Norwegian newspapers published caricatures of Prophet Mohammed. In our own state, a big noise was made by groups of Christians when the C.P,I,(M) secretary made an unwholesome remark about a bishop. Definitely, desecration of religious beliefs and using offensive language against religious heads, gods and masters do cross the boundaries of decency. Recently the Pope had to apologize to the Muslim world for his remarks made about medieval Muslim practices. People have a right not to be abused, insulted, or tarnished by others, either by careless or by deliberate uttering. For building better human relationships, some practical tips can help for the right use of meaningful freedom of expression. Let me mention them here,1. Think of a situation when other people upset you and make you stressed. Now think about what your expectations are. Are they realistic? 2. Remind yourself each day to stop judging others too harshly.3. Train yourself to give the benefit of doubt to others by understanding their situation, before jumping into negative criticism, i.e., reduce the negativity of your reaction.
Let me finally conclude by quoting the words of Stienbeck:
“That the free exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for, the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against, any idea, religion or government which limits or destroys the individual.”
Luckily for us, Ekkentros is a genial platform which stands for free thinking.
K.V.Kunhikrishnan: In the beginning of our discussions Dr. Babu Ravindran pointed out that there are three types of freedom, the physical, the mental, and the spiritual. All have their own limits. The physical freedom can be equated with political liberty in which men are free to do anything to sustain his life so long as his freedom does not adversely affect the freedom of others. For this, state makes common laws which the people are bound to follow. Within the four walls of the law, which are the limits, people enjoy their freedom. Freedom from want, freedom from disease, freedom of expression etc. are part of the physical freedom. this freedom and its limits have now been elaborately explained by Prof. Hay.
Mental freedom is the capacity for unbiased free thinking. But this capacity is absolutely limited because the mind from birth is cluttered up with all kinds of notions and belief put in there by parents, teachers, elders, and others. Mind is controlled by one’s religion also. Unless one is free of all these notions and beliefs, one cannot be free in his thoughts. Of course, read everything, hear all what others have to say, and understand them also fully. But for being free everything has to be questioned with an open mind, analyzing every bit of ideas and thoughts, accepting only facts and rejecting falsehoods and doubtful notions. This one should actually start as soon as one becomes an adult. A willingness to find truth may help. Capacity for discrimination will be required. For recognizing facts from fiction, the only thing one can rely on is one’s own direct perceptions, and intuitive understanding if available. The main difficulty of man today seems to be an undeveloped insight or intuition. Too much stress has been made on logic and reasoning, which, although have helped man in scientific development, are actually only instruments for verification of intuitively obtained ideas.
Spiritual freedom is entirely different. We can equate it with absolute freedom or reality itself. The physical and mental aspects, both are bondages to it. Human body is a major limitation and bondage to man’s spiritual freedom as pointed out by Dr. Sadanandan. And a mind in the bondage of all kinds of thoughts and beliefs is another major hurdle in Man’s path towards absolute freedom. Once attained, as claimed by the great masters, body, mind, or intellect is no more a restriction or bondage. In spite of them one is free because the freedom is beyond the body and mind that are still functioning in tact, perhaps more efficiently.
What one can do in the circumstances is only to strive to completely understand the bondage, limitations, and restrictions of the body and mind including the intellect, and try to go beyond them.
The question may still remain why one should have absolute freedom at all? Why chase the will o’ the wisp, the mirage? The answer is that only those who need it crave for it, like all other freedoms. The question what is this life and what all this phenomena is about, looms large, and this Damocles’ sword always hangs above his head. In the Bhagavad Geeta, it is said that four types of people crave God, the suffering, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of wealth, and the wise. Why not claim to be wise?
Dr. Babu Ravindran: When one is free his responsibility increases proportionately.
Dr. Thomas: In contrast, a dog is very uncomfortable when free. It does not want to be free. Its attitude is, ‘have I erred? Why do you want me to be free? I have surrendered to you’. It has to surrender to a superior being. Another aspect of the same is in the tradition of Travencore Maharajhas in prostrating completely before Sri Padmanabhaswami in an attitude of absolute surrender, which tradition was started by Raja Marthanda Varma. After he won his battle he threw his sword and surrendered everything to the deity.
Prof. Mohanan Nair: Emperor Asoka did the same thing after he won his war and saw the wanton destruction that it brought about.
Sri. Kunhikrishnan: On ultimate surrender the person who has surrendered has no more any responsibility. All responsibility is passed on to the person or entity to whom surrendered.
limits of freedom
EKKENTROS FORUM
The Matter: Report of the proceedings of the discussion held on 23-10-07(Tuesday)
Venue: Residence of Prof. Mohanan Nair, ‘Sobhanam’, Thiruvangad, Tellicherry.
Coram: Seven members present. Dr.Thomas (on tour to Bangalore) and Sri T.Bhaskaran, (On visit to Gulf) could not attend.
Subject: Limits of Freedom
The report of the last discussion was accepted unanimously after a few corrections. After the Forum’s invocation the discussion on Limits of Freedom was initiated by Dr. Babu Ravindran. After fellowship and a sumptuous dinner hosted by Dr. Mrs Sobhana Mohanan Nair, the meeting dispersed at 10-30 PM
Dr. Babu Ravindran: What do you mean by freedom? It literally means being free of any sort of restraints. It is the liberty of the person from slavery, oppression or incarceration. It can also be political independence, enjoyment of civil rights, and exemption from any unpleasant or even onerous conditions.
All living beings are free to grow within the laws of nature. Any restriction of its activities would amount to limitation of freedom. That is why it is said that liberty is immortality; freedom is life itself; and slavery for Man is more terrifying than death.
Freedom can be classified into three categories, viz., 1.Physical 2. Mental and 3. Internal or spiritual.
Physical freedom is the absence of physical boundaries to move about, to eat, to talk, to dress, and to stay according one’s comforts. From early childhood children are brought up with guided/limited freedom. They are required to follow social customs, religious rituals and worship, although they are free to do so without interfering with the freedom of others.
Similarly mental freedom is the absence of mental boundaries. That would mean the absence of any sort of restrictions on one’s thoughts and emotions. But here too, it has to be without interfering with the freedom of others in their expressions.
These are the two concepts of freedom which are external and which are used in taking decisions in one’s journey through everyday life. But the question is whether such freedom is really available to us to chart out one’s own life. Is man free to do whatever he wants to do? Or is he simply a puppet in the hands of an unknown puppeteer? This question was once asked to a great master by his disciple. The master shouted at him, ‘raise up your one leg!’ he raised his right leg standing on his left. The master said, ‘that is not enough raise the left leg too.’ The man was perplexed. He was at a loss to understand and angry too. He said, sir, you must be mad. Instead of answering a philosophical question, you seem to be making fun of me. You first asked me to raise one leg, and I raised my right. Now you ask me to raise the other leg too. How can I raise both the legs together? The Master replied, ‘that is exactly the point. When I asked you to raise one leg, you had the choice to raise the right or the left leg. It was your choice to raise the right leg. Having chosen the right leg, you have no choice to choose the left. It was your freedom to choose that determined the fact of your bondage. Now your left leg is in bondage.
This is to show that Man is half free and half in bondage. The element of freedom and choice exist even within the concept of destiny. Will acts within the boundaries of destiny.
The freedoms that we discussed above are external. In the external freedom, although we seem to make our own choices, in reality, the decisions are all influenced by our sentiments, desires, and attachments, keeping us within bondage. All decisions are made at the behest of the ego. It is like the man who says that he is completely free to do anything so long as his wife approves of it.
True freedom, however, is internal. It is enlightenment, and is complete, the total absence of ego or false self. Wayne Dyer says, “Freedom is the ability to leave the single room of awareness you were born in. in that room you learned the limits of your life. Outside of that room you learn that your life has unlimited possibilities.
True freedom lets our individuality bloom, and helps us shed the personality. Personality is a created entity while individuality is in the internal realm, and inborn.
When a part of a machine is well lubricated or oiled, the engineer refers to it as being ‘free’, meaning that it has now little or no friction in movement. Similarly in true freedom, once the ego that causes friction is removed, the conscious mind becomes free and effortless. But such a freedom does not come to everybody, nor does it come easily. It requires a perfect and intense inclination.
But why should one need such freedom at all? Are we not happy and satisfied to be the sole proprietor of all that we have and all that we do? Therefore the question that we are confronted with is, whether it is an absolute freedom, a limited physical freedom, or a true freedom, unlimited and spiritual, that we actually need? I leave it for discussion.
Prof. Sankarankutty: When we talk about freedom, the first thing that comes to the mind is the political turmoil and political freedom. While freedom is synonymous with liberty, ‘freedom’ as such is a more general word. Liberty is clearly political. Freedom is an all-encompassing word covering freedom from all sorts of restrictions and limitations.
To some extent, nature has inbuilt freedom, a state of being in which something blooms spontaneously. When freedom is restricted, the blooming stops. As regards the freedom of the mind what comes to my memory are the words of Shakespeare uttered through Kent in his play, King Lear, “Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here”. Kent was banished, not for a right cause. Although banished physically, he was mentally free, and that was his real freedom.
Freedom in everyday life has its limitations. One can speak one’s mind freely, but one has to bear the consequences. One cannot use the freedom of speech without its restrictions. There are social norms to be followed. If a child does something wrong, he can be scolded by his parents. But if an adult does something wrong, one has to think twice before opening one’s mouth. In intimate moments especially we are not able to exercise our freedom of expression due to several other considerations. When you find somebody talking foolishly, you cannot tell him, ‘you are a fool’. It is not socially correct.
Prof. Mohanan Nair: Is it not cowardice not to say so?
Dr. Sadanandan: A patient is, say, terminally ill. Can you tell him, ‘you will die’?
Dr. Babu Ravindran: One is, of course, free to say, but circumstances restrict that freedom. What is at that time necessary to maintain harmony has to be done taking into account the feelings of the patient as well as that of others.
Prof.Sankarankutty: And sometimes your own interest is affected in exercising the freedom to tell the truth. Freedom is thus affected by self-interest, and therefore is a misnomer. When there is no self interest, and therefore there is nothing more to hide, one drinks hemlock like Socrates. We then face the darker areas of human behavior.
Dr. Babu Ravindran: Is absolute freedom necessary?
Prof. Sankarankutty: If you want harmony with life you need real freedom, not necessarily of the physical variety. In Christianity the concept of free will is there. It is the exercise of free will that created the fall of man. Use of free will in eating the forbidden apple did the damage. Without the consequences of one’s action, one cannot do anything.
Dr. Abdulla: You cannot define freedom as it is. Some feel freedom in the jail also. They are even more happy in jail than outside.
Prof.Sankarankutty: it is a mental condition, an attitude. Existentialists have examined the nature of freedom. The question is, ‘are you really free even when you feel free?’
Dr.Babu Ravindran: If you have more freedom, you have more responsibility. More the freedom, higher the responsibility in exercising it.
Prof. Sankarankutty: Consequences are on the other side of freedom. Philosophically speaking, the saying is apt here, ‘your freedom ends where my nose begins!’
Kunhikrishnan: Bertrand Russell said that a smoker and a non-smoker cannot have freedom in the same railway compartment.
Dr.Babu Ravindran: When there are two people, freedom is an adjustment in understanding.
Prof.Sankarankutty: Freedom is a profound relationship. But even that refers to physical freedom. The real philosophical dimension of freedom is spiritual, starting with the freedom from desires.
Prof. Mohanan Nair: If there are no laws to restrict freedom, society will collapse. Therefore there must be reasonable limits to freedom.
Prof.Richard Hay: The concepts on freedom change very fast. We have all seen the hippie movement. Their concept of freedom differed from that of society. I shall elaborate on this and other matters in my talk next time.
Prof.Sankarankutty: Society’s ideas on freedom and the restrictions to be imposed change rapidly. Democratic norms change. We find that socially gay marriages are allowed in some advanced countries. American culture is not only changing fast but also spreading fast.
Dr.Sadanandan: For the human being freedom is already limited from the time he is born. His body itself is his limitation. Man is in his prison comprised of his equipments, namely his body, his brain and his mind. Of course, he has his faculties; he has his brain cells giving him sensitivity, imagination and the whole consciousness, although all these are very limited. If he must have more freedom, his faculties, his consciousness has to expand. Naturally he is wondering whether it is possible for the consciousness to expand. The wondering man, therefore, desirous of more freedom, tries to correlate between the internal and external, his inside and outside, probing and understanding both in order to find out the means of expansion.
Can he expand and go above the limitations? But it is the very same brain which asks the question and tries to go beyond itself, beyond the restrictions. He finds that he cannot find more freedom with the same limited equipments, the limited faculties. And there is no external faculty which will take him away from this process, this movement. Therefore, in trying to move away from the limitation of the prison, there is no point outside of itself from where one can perceive the limitation. How can we then go beyond the limitation? To answer the question one has go beyond the process itself, beyond the process of thought...
The Matter: Report of the proceedings of the discussion held on 23-10-07(Tuesday)
Venue: Residence of Prof. Mohanan Nair, ‘Sobhanam’, Thiruvangad, Tellicherry.
Coram: Seven members present. Dr.Thomas (on tour to Bangalore) and Sri T.Bhaskaran, (On visit to Gulf) could not attend.
Subject: Limits of Freedom
The report of the last discussion was accepted unanimously after a few corrections. After the Forum’s invocation the discussion on Limits of Freedom was initiated by Dr. Babu Ravindran. After fellowship and a sumptuous dinner hosted by Dr. Mrs Sobhana Mohanan Nair, the meeting dispersed at 10-30 PM
Dr. Babu Ravindran: What do you mean by freedom? It literally means being free of any sort of restraints. It is the liberty of the person from slavery, oppression or incarceration. It can also be political independence, enjoyment of civil rights, and exemption from any unpleasant or even onerous conditions.
All living beings are free to grow within the laws of nature. Any restriction of its activities would amount to limitation of freedom. That is why it is said that liberty is immortality; freedom is life itself; and slavery for Man is more terrifying than death.
Freedom can be classified into three categories, viz., 1.Physical 2. Mental and 3. Internal or spiritual.
Physical freedom is the absence of physical boundaries to move about, to eat, to talk, to dress, and to stay according one’s comforts. From early childhood children are brought up with guided/limited freedom. They are required to follow social customs, religious rituals and worship, although they are free to do so without interfering with the freedom of others.
Similarly mental freedom is the absence of mental boundaries. That would mean the absence of any sort of restrictions on one’s thoughts and emotions. But here too, it has to be without interfering with the freedom of others in their expressions.
These are the two concepts of freedom which are external and which are used in taking decisions in one’s journey through everyday life. But the question is whether such freedom is really available to us to chart out one’s own life. Is man free to do whatever he wants to do? Or is he simply a puppet in the hands of an unknown puppeteer? This question was once asked to a great master by his disciple. The master shouted at him, ‘raise up your one leg!’ he raised his right leg standing on his left. The master said, ‘that is not enough raise the left leg too.’ The man was perplexed. He was at a loss to understand and angry too. He said, sir, you must be mad. Instead of answering a philosophical question, you seem to be making fun of me. You first asked me to raise one leg, and I raised my right. Now you ask me to raise the other leg too. How can I raise both the legs together? The Master replied, ‘that is exactly the point. When I asked you to raise one leg, you had the choice to raise the right or the left leg. It was your choice to raise the right leg. Having chosen the right leg, you have no choice to choose the left. It was your freedom to choose that determined the fact of your bondage. Now your left leg is in bondage.
This is to show that Man is half free and half in bondage. The element of freedom and choice exist even within the concept of destiny. Will acts within the boundaries of destiny.
The freedoms that we discussed above are external. In the external freedom, although we seem to make our own choices, in reality, the decisions are all influenced by our sentiments, desires, and attachments, keeping us within bondage. All decisions are made at the behest of the ego. It is like the man who says that he is completely free to do anything so long as his wife approves of it.
True freedom, however, is internal. It is enlightenment, and is complete, the total absence of ego or false self. Wayne Dyer says, “Freedom is the ability to leave the single room of awareness you were born in. in that room you learned the limits of your life. Outside of that room you learn that your life has unlimited possibilities.
True freedom lets our individuality bloom, and helps us shed the personality. Personality is a created entity while individuality is in the internal realm, and inborn.
When a part of a machine is well lubricated or oiled, the engineer refers to it as being ‘free’, meaning that it has now little or no friction in movement. Similarly in true freedom, once the ego that causes friction is removed, the conscious mind becomes free and effortless. But such a freedom does not come to everybody, nor does it come easily. It requires a perfect and intense inclination.
But why should one need such freedom at all? Are we not happy and satisfied to be the sole proprietor of all that we have and all that we do? Therefore the question that we are confronted with is, whether it is an absolute freedom, a limited physical freedom, or a true freedom, unlimited and spiritual, that we actually need? I leave it for discussion.
Prof. Sankarankutty: When we talk about freedom, the first thing that comes to the mind is the political turmoil and political freedom. While freedom is synonymous with liberty, ‘freedom’ as such is a more general word. Liberty is clearly political. Freedom is an all-encompassing word covering freedom from all sorts of restrictions and limitations.
To some extent, nature has inbuilt freedom, a state of being in which something blooms spontaneously. When freedom is restricted, the blooming stops. As regards the freedom of the mind what comes to my memory are the words of Shakespeare uttered through Kent in his play, King Lear, “Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here”. Kent was banished, not for a right cause. Although banished physically, he was mentally free, and that was his real freedom.
Freedom in everyday life has its limitations. One can speak one’s mind freely, but one has to bear the consequences. One cannot use the freedom of speech without its restrictions. There are social norms to be followed. If a child does something wrong, he can be scolded by his parents. But if an adult does something wrong, one has to think twice before opening one’s mouth. In intimate moments especially we are not able to exercise our freedom of expression due to several other considerations. When you find somebody talking foolishly, you cannot tell him, ‘you are a fool’. It is not socially correct.
Prof. Mohanan Nair: Is it not cowardice not to say so?
Dr. Sadanandan: A patient is, say, terminally ill. Can you tell him, ‘you will die’?
Dr. Babu Ravindran: One is, of course, free to say, but circumstances restrict that freedom. What is at that time necessary to maintain harmony has to be done taking into account the feelings of the patient as well as that of others.
Prof.Sankarankutty: And sometimes your own interest is affected in exercising the freedom to tell the truth. Freedom is thus affected by self-interest, and therefore is a misnomer. When there is no self interest, and therefore there is nothing more to hide, one drinks hemlock like Socrates. We then face the darker areas of human behavior.
Dr. Babu Ravindran: Is absolute freedom necessary?
Prof. Sankarankutty: If you want harmony with life you need real freedom, not necessarily of the physical variety. In Christianity the concept of free will is there. It is the exercise of free will that created the fall of man. Use of free will in eating the forbidden apple did the damage. Without the consequences of one’s action, one cannot do anything.
Dr. Abdulla: You cannot define freedom as it is. Some feel freedom in the jail also. They are even more happy in jail than outside.
Prof.Sankarankutty: it is a mental condition, an attitude. Existentialists have examined the nature of freedom. The question is, ‘are you really free even when you feel free?’
Dr.Babu Ravindran: If you have more freedom, you have more responsibility. More the freedom, higher the responsibility in exercising it.
Prof. Sankarankutty: Consequences are on the other side of freedom. Philosophically speaking, the saying is apt here, ‘your freedom ends where my nose begins!’
Kunhikrishnan: Bertrand Russell said that a smoker and a non-smoker cannot have freedom in the same railway compartment.
Dr.Babu Ravindran: When there are two people, freedom is an adjustment in understanding.
Prof.Sankarankutty: Freedom is a profound relationship. But even that refers to physical freedom. The real philosophical dimension of freedom is spiritual, starting with the freedom from desires.
Prof. Mohanan Nair: If there are no laws to restrict freedom, society will collapse. Therefore there must be reasonable limits to freedom.
Prof.Richard Hay: The concepts on freedom change very fast. We have all seen the hippie movement. Their concept of freedom differed from that of society. I shall elaborate on this and other matters in my talk next time.
Prof.Sankarankutty: Society’s ideas on freedom and the restrictions to be imposed change rapidly. Democratic norms change. We find that socially gay marriages are allowed in some advanced countries. American culture is not only changing fast but also spreading fast.
Dr.Sadanandan: For the human being freedom is already limited from the time he is born. His body itself is his limitation. Man is in his prison comprised of his equipments, namely his body, his brain and his mind. Of course, he has his faculties; he has his brain cells giving him sensitivity, imagination and the whole consciousness, although all these are very limited. If he must have more freedom, his faculties, his consciousness has to expand. Naturally he is wondering whether it is possible for the consciousness to expand. The wondering man, therefore, desirous of more freedom, tries to correlate between the internal and external, his inside and outside, probing and understanding both in order to find out the means of expansion.
Can he expand and go above the limitations? But it is the very same brain which asks the question and tries to go beyond itself, beyond the restrictions. He finds that he cannot find more freedom with the same limited equipments, the limited faculties. And there is no external faculty which will take him away from this process, this movement. Therefore, in trying to move away from the limitation of the prison, there is no point outside of itself from where one can perceive the limitation. How can we then go beyond the limitation? To answer the question one has go beyond the process itself, beyond the process of thought...
list of members
1) Sri.K.V.Kunhikrishnan, I.R.S.(Retd), Convener.
2)Dr.T.N.Babu Ravindran, M.D. Member
3)Dr.Md.Abdulla, MBBS., DTCD. Member
4)Prof. Mohanan Nair, M.A., M.Litt. Member
5)Prof.Richard Hay, M.Com., MCT., Member
6)Dr. K.P.Thomas, M.S.(Ortho) Member
7) Dr. A.V.Sadanandan, MBBS Member
8)Dr. P.M.Sankadankutty, M.A.,PhD. Member
9) Sri.T.Bhaskaran Member
2)Dr.T.N.Babu Ravindran, M.D. Member
3)Dr.Md.Abdulla, MBBS., DTCD. Member
4)Prof. Mohanan Nair, M.A., M.Litt. Member
5)Prof.Richard Hay, M.Com., MCT., Member
6)Dr. K.P.Thomas, M.S.(Ortho) Member
7) Dr. A.V.Sadanandan, MBBS Member
8)Dr. P.M.Sankadankutty, M.A.,PhD. Member
9) Sri.T.Bhaskaran Member
INVOCATION
With the knowledge gathered all through our lives,
The wisdom dawned therefrom,
With the ability of expression acquired with care and effort,
And our unfathomed intuitive faculties,
We now invoke
For a free discussion with no holds barred
Within the vast mental space, in these moments of silence...................
The wisdom dawned therefrom,
With the ability of expression acquired with care and effort,
And our unfathomed intuitive faculties,
We now invoke
For a free discussion with no holds barred
Within the vast mental space, in these moments of silence...................
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