Chapter 12 Chaos & Stillness

Human beings are in a state of mental illness right now. This doesn't mean that only a few people are mentally ill, but that humanity itself is mentally ill. This isn't about treating a few individuals; it's about treating humanity as it is. Mental illness is a "normal" state. You are born mentally ill. There are many reasons for this, and we need to understand these reasons that cause mental illness in humans.

Neurosis is congenital. The first reason is that humans are the only animals that do not fully develop in the womb. Everyone is born underdeveloped. Other animals are born fully developed and don't really need their mothers. Infants are completely helpless; without a mother, without a home, without parents, they cannot survive. They are born undeveloped.

Scientists say that nine months is only half the necessary time. The fetus needs to remain in the uterus for 18 months. The problem is that women cannot carry a child for 18 months. Therefore, every birth is premature. This is because humans are the only bipedal animals. The uterus, and indeed the human body, is not designed for an upright posture, which creates various problems. Therefore, the fetus is born before it is fully developed and ready. This gives rise to a neurotic state: a fetus that is not yet fully evolved. Second, even if the situation could be changed, problems would still exist. We will be able to change this situation someday. We will be able to change it when we can scientifically create a uterus for future humans. But even then, problems will still exist. The second reason is far more profound than the physiological one; it is a psychological one. No animal is educated; only humans are. He must undergo training and conditioning; he is not allowed to simply be who he is; he must be instilled with a specific pattern. That pattern produces neurosis.

You are not allowed to be yourself. Society gives you a pattern, a mold. You are molded into a certain form and style. That means repression. The rest of your being is repressed, and only a small part is allowed to express itself. This creates a split, a schizophrenia. The whole mind is sacrificed, and only a small part is allowed to express itself, while the majority is not allowed to express itself. You don't even allow it to live; it has no choice but to sneak into the dark corners of your being.

But it's still there, and then there's a constant conflict. The small part that society allows and the large part that society doesn't allow are in a state of tension, in conflict—a constant inner conflict. So you're against yourself: that's insanity. No one approves of themselves; everyone is against themselves. Man is against himself. That's how society educates you, cultivates you, and shapes you. This repression has many meanings. You'll never be free because most of you aren't even allowed to exist, not even to be conscious. Most of your existence is in chains. Remember, that small part can never be free. If the whole tree is enslaved, can you free a single branch? That small part is fundamentally a part of the whole, so even if that small part enjoys freedom, it's only a false freedom. The repressed part will constantly struggle to gain expression.

Life needs expression; life is expression. If you don't allow life to express itself, you're creating and accumulating explosive forces. These forces will explode, shattering you to pieces. This internal division within you is schizophrenia. Therefore, everyone has schizophrenia; they are fighting against themselves. They cannot be at ease, they cannot be at peace, they cannot be happy. Hell is always there, and you cannot escape it unless you become whole.

So, if you understand what I mean, if this person is schizophrenic and mentally unstable, then something must be done to alleviate this mental instability and bring the two split halves of you as close as possible. What cannot be expressed must be expressed; the constant repression of the unconscious by your mind and consciousness must be lifted.

Old meditation techniques haven't considered this point, and therefore have been ineffective. Meditation techniques have existed for a long time; history shows they exist. However, figures like the Buddha, Jesus, and Mahavira all failed. I'm not saying they didn't achieve enlightenment. They did, but they were exceptions, and these exceptions only prove the existence of those rules and principles. The Buddha attained enlightenment, but he couldn't help most people achieve it. He was simply an exception.

Why doesn't religion offer significant help? The reason is this: we've always assumed that people are simply people, and we've consistently taught meditation techniques to help people rediscover their true nature. However, these techniques can only offer limited help, and only superficially. The inner divisions remain; you haven't truly addressed them.

For example, there are Zen techniques, Mahasi Yoga's Transcendental Meditation, and other techniques. They can only help you to a certain extent; they can help you quiet down, your surface may become more tranquil, but nothing happens to your inner being. They can't do that! Moreover, in a sense, this superficial calm is dangerous because you will still explode again in one way or another. Fundamentally, nothing happens; it's merely training your conscious mind to be in a more static state.

Dynamic meditation is very active and very strenuous. Can't one enter meditation simply by sitting still? You can enter meditation simply by sitting still, but that's just sitting still, just doing nothing. If you can just sit, then it becomes meditation. To sit completely still, no movement is your only movement. In fact, the word Zen comes from zazen, meaning just sitting, doing nothing. If you can just sit, your body doing nothing, your mind doing nothing, it becomes meditation; but this is difficult.

When you're doing something else, it's easy to sit down, but the problem arises when you just sit and do nothing. Every fiber in your body begins to move, every blood vessel, every muscle begins to move. You'll start to feel a subtle tremor, and you'll become aware of many points in your body that you've never been aware of before. The more you try to just sit still, the more you'll feel the movement within your body. Therefore, to truly meditate, you must first do something else.