Man - A Dual Personality

Man is extremely complex…nobody can claim to understand the workings of man fully. Man is not only male but female too. How different are they from each other…if we say poles apart we may not be wrong. But to plumb the depths of the difference between male and female is a task which cannot be accomplished this side of eternity. The difference between male and female, however is not what this discussion is about…this has to be left for the experts.

What we want to look at is man, be it male or female, is a complex whole made up of many parts. We can either say man is made up of 5 sheaths or narrow it down to 3 parts…body, soul and spirit. The body is far too complex. Everyday scientists somewhere are discovering something new about the body. As for soul and spirit…who can really tell the difference? However, the soul it seems, is present only when man is alive. Well, so is the spirit. So, what is the difference? There are spirits who don’t need bodies and don’t have a soul but man as long as is in a body and needs to function in this body needs to have a soul. So as long as the spirit of man is in a body he is a soul but the moment the spirit departs from the body man no longer has a soul. So, what is the function of the soul? It can be said that the faculty of will, emotions and intellect are what constitutes the soul. The soul is the medium for the spirit to express itself and that expression is seen through the body…when the spirit smiles it is seen in the face and eyes of the body.

Man is really a spirit being living in a body and having a soul. The spirit is who man really is. Deep down inside of you, you are what your spirit is. What does the spirit really look like? Can we really tell? It is not so easy to tell what the spirit really looks like because it is so wrapped up in the will, emotions and intellect of the soul. The spirit seems to be disguised. The spirit seems to look like many different things at different times. Without a doubt we see clearly the characteristics of being loving, helpful, caring and kind. We also see the characteristics of being hateful and extremely selfish. We see some people behaving like sweet angels and we some people who are full of evil.

Man is made in the image of God. God blew His breath into man. So, there is something of God in man. Hence, man is loving and caring and kind. This is all very understandable and seems to make a whole lot of sense. The really frightening thing is when the same person who is loving and kind and caring at the drop of a hat becomes hateful and selfish. In an instant the sweet man is turned into an evil being. That which is all the time hovering below the surface rears it’s ugly head. The beast in man is now revealed. Man is really a dual personality…an angel and a beast. Most of the time man tries to be an angel, however, that too is changing fast, man doesn’t bother to cover up for the beast in him any more. He openly displays the beast in him. This is what man really is…a beast. A beast so ugly and evil!

As life goes along man most of the time tries to be good. Sometimes, the beast pops out it’s ugly head and man pushes it down. When man doesn’t push it down the beast takes over. Take for example the people of New Orleans, Louisiana before hurricane Katrina struck. I am sure they were most of the time good people…sure they must have had their share of being bad too, like everybody else. Then Katrina came. The forces of nature were unleashed and Katrina began to wreak havoc. The people were forced to take shelter in a stadium. Stadiums are not normally built to have thousands of people living in it for days on end. The conditions became squalid with toilets so stuffed that they were overflowing. Drinking water became a very scarce commodity and the electricity was out. Very abnormal conditions with non-stop howling winds and pouring rain with no hope in sight. Panic set in. People went into survival mode. The beast in man came out and revealed itself fully. The law of the jungle was now in operation…the survival of the fittest. Each man for himself…now no more loving and caring but completely self-centred. Girls were getting raped, men were shooting at each other, looting was taking place…anarchy set in and began to reign. The beasts turned upon each other…they began to devour one another. We who are watching this debacle unfold cannot understand how this could happen. Can I say what I would have done in such conditions? Can you say what you would have done?

In 2000 when the earthquake struck Gujarat massive amount of relief was being poured as the extent of the damage became more known. People from different parts of the world got into planes at their own expenses to come and help in whatever way they could. All over India school children were taking collections for the suffering homeless whose lives was turned upside down in a flash of a second. TV channels were transmitting extensive coverage of the plight of the quake victims. In the midst of all this humanitarian aid Zee TV showed how people with their very fancy 4-wheelers were driving up to damaged abandoned shops and loading their vehicles with TVs, air-conditioners and other expensive equipment. While the whole world was pouring humanitarian aid into Gujarat, some of the very people of Gujarat themselves were going out looting shops. How unthinkable. The beast in man was revealed.

When the director of the Sames Management Institute of Varanasi was shot dead at point-blank range for not paying protection money there was much outrage in the city, and rightly so. But how were the students expressing their outrage? By waging violence, not against the murderers, but against society. They took all kinds of lathis and went on a rampage in the city breaking down hoardings and damaging other people’s property. The police had to be called in to disperse the lathi wielding students. How does this kind of violence help bring justice to put the criminals behind bars? When people are outraged how do they react? By going out and burning cars and busses and breaking into shops of people who had nothing to do with the injustice suffered by the victims. This is insanity! When a G8 kind of meeting takes place protestors gather from all over the world to protest against the leaders of the rich world being unjust to the poor developing countries. But how do they protest? By blocking roads and burning cars and breaking shops of the people who have nothing to do with the G8 meeting except that it is being held in their part of the city. This is pure anarchy! The beast in man is being more and more revealed as the days pass.

Road - rage has become a very common occurrence in many parts of the world. A family man taking his family out for a days outing gets annoyed at a motorist for some or other reason. The beast in man takes over and the family man pulls out the driver of the other vehicle and beats him up badly with the full intent of doing him the most harm possible. If he is carrying a gun he takes out the gun and shoots the man. Was the other man a family man too with little children to look after? It doesn’t matter to the beast.

A former cricketer and famous cricket commentator is famous for his sharp wit. But hovering under the surface of the sharp wit was malice. This malice was evident in the caustic remarks made in trying to be witty. Most people have no inkling of this malice but are mesmerized by the wittiness. Just like the little bird which is mesmerized by the eyes of the serpent which is about to devour it. Not long ago it surfaced that this cricket commentator three years ago beat up a man so badly in a road rage situation that the man succumbed to his injuries and died. The beast that was lurking just below the surface was revealed. Now he is a politician spitting out the same venom of malice.

The beast in man has total disregard for rules and laws. There is no regard for others and their feelings. There is no regard for other’s property. Anarchy and total chaos is the law. I predict that as the days pass we are going to see violence and anarchy in various parts of the world in an unprecedented way.

Can any man deny that he needs to have a new spirit…one where the beast is put to death and the angel-like spirit is alive? Can you deny that you have a dual personality? To be on the true spiritual path is to have a new spirit.