Even if you pray to God, pray to Buddha, emotionally, very nice, but every problem, we have created.
Even if you pray to God, pray to Buddha, emotionally, very nice, but every problem, we have created. So I think even God or Buddha cannot do much.” These words from an article in the New York Times could have made people believe that the writer is an atheist.
But when it is made known that none other than the Dalai Lama said this, it is bound to startle his fans, followers and believers alike. But anything the Dalai Lama says carries great credibility and weight. So this cannot be without meaning.
A long time ago, the Dalai Lama felt the need for emotional transformation because he found the new generation to be more selfish and materialistic. So he commissioned scientists for a lofty mission: To help turn people, irrespective of their religion, into more self-aware and compassionate human beings.
The Dalai Lama asked his friend Paul Ekman — a psychologist who advised the creators of Pixar’s Inside Out, an animated film set inside a girl’s head map out the range of human sentiments.
Dr Ekman is going to launch a website with a map of human emotions which people can study. Dubbed the Atlas of Emotions, the Dalai Lama hopes this project will work as a tool to cultivate goodness in the world by defeating the enemy within i.e. our emotions. “Ultimately, our emotion is the real troublemaker,” he said, while adding, “we have to know the nature of that enemy”.
Agreed, but can we transform emotions into compassion by creating a website Emotions have their roots in the unconscious, which is much more powerful than the conscious, educated mind. One needs stronger therapy to root out negative emotions completely. Osho has created a number of active meditations which have catharsis as their foundation. According to him, these practices help thrown out all the chaos within. Once this is done, a silence descends on you.
The emotions Dr Ekman talks about are part of the Freudian unconscious, which is full of negative energies.
Osho separates the Freudian unconscious from the “real unconscious”. He says, “A meditative catharsis will relieve you of the Freudian unconscious. And only when this Freudian unconscious disappears can you penetrate the real unconscious, which lies between the conscious and the unconscious. When it moves out you will feel fresh, young and unburdened. For our age, catharsis is a must. No one can reach the inner guide without catharsis. And once you are in deep catharsis you need not be afraid. Then the real unconscious will start revealing itself; then it will penetrate into your consciousness and, for the first time, you will become aware of your vast inner being. Which is your inner guide.”
The Atlas of Emotions is a useful development, but it only touches the surface of the problem. The domain of emotions is vast and unexplored and it is meditative catharsis that will take within.
Amrit Sadhana is editor Osho Times International. She facilitates meditation workshops based on Osho insights around the country and abroad.
