It's not an article about the meme you know about. It's a different kind of meme, a concept invented decades ago, even before the presence of the internet. In this article, we are going to talk about something fundamental, stories and values that help us connect across culture and race. Something that literally makes us relate with some of the common experiences that are found across borders and societies. We will also look into the super-important concept of conscience and how it permeates our lives.
Let me expand on the problem first, why does our conscience keep telling us things we don't want to do, and if we do something immoral or unjust it keeps pointing toward us. Why it goes against our will and why can't we control it? Why does it object to the things we want, if we truly want those things then logically our thoughts and conscience should help us get there rather than question our own choice of actions. There is a big difference between what we want and what our conscience wants.
I'm sure that most of us are way too busy to even listen to our conscience, but believe me when I say this, the moment you take a break, it will come and haunt you. We can try and run as far as possible from it, but it will never stop chasing us. The moment we stop, it will catch up and start haunting us. So, either we can run our entire lives, or stop, and deal with the guilty conscience. The only way to stop the haunting is to accept and align with the terms of our conscience.
I know it's getting a bit too abstract, so let's bring a small story. It is said that when people asked Socrates, how he knew what was right and what was wrong, he used to say 'I literally hear a voice whenever I'm about to make a decision. not metaphorically'. It was not a metaphor, he used to say that a little guy was sitting inside my head and that little guy told me whenever I was about to do anything wrong. But when it came to his death penalty by the senate, that little guy remained calm and that's how he knew that dying was right for him. Now most of you will find this argument rather vague and will ask me how can I justify someone's death. A few might say that he might have had some mental illness like schizophrenia and that's why he talked all this nonsense. But let me assure you even if he was schizophrenic, he was more rational than we ever will be. Honestly, I've read the defense given by Socrates in front of the Senate, it is just pure marvel, nothing short of any courtroom drama. It's one of the best pieces of argument I have ever read. If you ever get the chance to read it, I would highly recommend that. By the end of his argument, most of you will reach the same conclusion as Socrates, that the death penalty was a gift for him. I don't think that I can do justice to it, so I will leave it for people to read and interpret on their own.
Socrates trial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id0Kkq4VHDo&t=1s
We needed all this to set up the context around the problem and the role of conscience. Now let's get into an even more detailed analysis of the subject matter.
What are memes?
Memes are units of cultural information that spread from person to person. The term was coined by biologist Richard Dawkins in his book "The Selfish Gene" (1976), drawing an analogy with genes in the context of cultural evolution. Memes can be ideas, behaviors, styles, or practices that spread within a culture or from one culture to another through imitation. With the rise of the internet, the concept of memes has become closely associated with viral internet content, including images, videos, and text that are rapidly and widely shared, evolving as they spread.
But the idea of memes goes way beyond the internet, it is how the collective knowledge is built dynamically. Now I know that memes can't change the genes but there is a small correlation, meme basically change how we pass on different trends and ideas, and these ideas over a few generations can start impacting our dietary choices and that may lead to things like our increased capacity for lactose.
The ability to digest lactose in adulthood is an often-cited example of gene-culture coevolution. Societies that domesticated cows and consumed dairy products provided a selective advantage to individuals with mutations that allowed lactose digestion beyond infancy. Over generations, this cultural practice influenced the genetic makeup of these populations.
Another such case is of cultural decisions to inhabit high-altitude areas, where oxygen is scarce, have led to genetic adaptations in populations like the Tibetans, Andeans, and Ethiopians. These adaptations include enhanced abilities to utilize oxygen and resist certain altitude-related illnesses, showing how human culture (settlement patterns) can lead to genetic changes.
Now let's define Archetypes.
What are Archetypes?
Archetypes, a term popularized by psychologist Carl Jung, refer to universally recognized symbols or characters that exist in the collective unconscious of people all over the world. These are foundational elements of human stories and personalities, manifesting as characters or themes that are instantly recognizable, such as the Hero, the Mentor, the Mother, or the Trickster. Jung believed these archetypes are inherent in our collective psyche and influence how we perceive the world and ourselves, shaping our behaviors and interactions.
Now unlike memes, Archetypes are much more deeply rooted in the human psyche. Archetypes have evolved over thousands of years. And this is what defines our entire human civilization. Memes might be limited to a local population, but the Archetypes cover almost the entire human civilization.
The Relevance of God and Religion
Now comes the interesting bit of this article, how Archetypes are associated with God and religion. Most people do not understand how to even begin conceptualizing the god. Let me state something in bold and capital, ALL THE MYTHOLOGICAL AND RELIGIOUS STORIES NEED NOT BE TAKEN LITERALLY, THEY ARE THE ARCHETYPES THAT FORMED ARE SOCIETY. People who think that religion or god has no role to play in their lives, I feel sorry for them, it's just simply that they have very little understanding of this concept.
Without these archetypical stories, the very fabric of society and and human psyche would not exist. Now the problem is that it's extremely hard to do meat analysis of these stories and break them up philosophically. Even those who think of themselves can barely do some sort of scientific breakdown, rarely do I see someone who can break it down in terms of archetypes and explain all those stories.
Let's pick up a lot of stories from different religious texts and break them down into their archetypes. Before we dive there, let me make a quick point, there is a reason, whenever we are watching a movie or a fight, our hearts goes fro the underdog, we want him/her to be saved and that's the archetype.
Let's look at the story of Mosses.
In the heart of Egypt, beneath the shadow of pyramids and the watchful gaze of Pharaohs, a child was born into bondage. Moses, his name whispered by the Nile, was destined for a journey that would transform the very essence of a nation. Basically Mosses was born as a slave but somehow by the stroke of luck, becomes the prince of the Egyptian kingdom.
The Call to Adventure
Moses, living in the comfort of Pharaoh's palace, spent his days in silent luxury, yet the cries of his people, the Israelites, haunted him. It was in a moment of rage, witnessing an Egyptian taskmaster's cruelty, that Moses's conscience first rebelled, propelling him into the wilderness of Midian. This is the first steps of the Hero's Journey: the refusal of the call, the flight from destiny, only to find it unavoidable.
The Burning Bush: Confrontation with the Divine
In the solitude of the desert, amid the stark, unforgiving sands, Moses encountered the burning bush, a vision of fire and voice that was neither consumed nor silenced. This symbolizes the moment of awakening, the confrontation with the unknown, the divine command that stirs the conscience from its slumber. "Go forth," it demanded, not just a call to liberate a people but an imperative to confront the chaos within and without.
The Return: Bearing the Tablets of Law
Moses, armed with divine mandate, returned to Egypt, not as a prince but as a prophet, a mediator between the divine and the earthly. The plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the journey through the wilderness—each trial was a testament to the struggle against tyranny, both external and internal. The Ten Commandments not merely as laws but as the codification of the conscience, principles etched in stone that guide the moral compass of the people.
The Promised Land: A Journey Beyond
The promised land lay beyond the horizon, a land flowing with milk and honey, yet Moses himself would never set foot upon its soil. This is the ultimate sacrifice of the hero: to lead others to salvation, knowing you yourself may not partake in it. It's a poignant reminder of the role of conscience, to guide and protect, even at the cost of personal desire.
The Legacy of Moses: An Archetypal Journey
Moses's story, through the archetypal lens, is not just an ancient narrative but a living, breathing testament to the journey of the human conscience. It teaches us that liberation is not just the breaking of chains but the adherence to a higher moral calling. It reminds us that the wilderness we must navigate is not just the world around us but the untamed frontiers of our own souls.
In the silent moments of introspection, when we confront our own burning bushes, we are faced with the same choice as Moses: to heed the call of our conscience, to embark on the journey towards our own promised lands, guided not by the flickering lights of transient desires but by the enduring fire of our highest values.
This story transcends the boundaries of religion and creed and invites us to ponder the archetypes that dwell within us—the hero, the sage, the liberator. In the saga of Moses, we find not just the story of an ancient prophet but the blueprint of our own quest for meaning, a call to embrace the journey of the conscience, with all its trials and triumphs, as we navigate the wilderness of the human condition.
It's no different in Hinduism
In the rich tapestry of mythological stories, we encounter the profound journeys of divine avatars like Lord Rama and Lord Krishna, who, despite their divine nature, endure the full spectrum of human suffering. Lord Rama, destined for kingship, faces exile, loses his beloved wife Sita, and lives a hermit's life by the Saryu River, embodying sacrifice and duty. Similarly, Lord Krishna's life is marked by separation, struggle, and loss, from his early separation from his mother to the tragic end of his lineage.
These narratives underscore a universal truth: suffering spares no one, not even avatars. Yet, through their trials, these divine figures teach us about dharma, or righteous duty, demonstrating that our actions and choices, especially in the face of adversity, define us.
The story of Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita offers another layer of understanding. Before the great battle, Krishna reveals his cosmic form, the Virat Roop, to Arjuna, a vision so overwhelming that it requires divine intervention to comprehend. This moment illustrates that the finite human mind cannot grasp the infinite without divine grace. It's a metaphor for enlightenment and the pursuit of knowledge, suggesting that understanding the divine or the infinite aspects of existence requires more than just human effort; it requires openness to divine grace.
This theme resonates across various mythologies, including the story of Moses, who is also instructed not to look directly at God. These stories convey a fundamental lesson about humility, purity of heart, and the necessity of divine grace for enlightenment. They remind us that the pursuit of truth and understanding, especially of the divine or the infinite, is not just a journey of the mind but also of the spirit.
Across cultures, these stories about encounters with the divine form, whether through visions of God's true nature or conversations with deities, teach us that enlightenment and divine knowledge come with preparation, purity, and the grace of the divine. Without these, the revelation of higher truths can overwhelm or elude us, underscoring the importance of spiritual readiness and humility in our quest for understanding.
Understanding the Conscience through Archetypes
So, now to the main crux, how do we align our actions and thoughts to our Conscience. It's pretty simple and complex at the same time. Personally, I find it quite easy to do it in my own life, rarely do I feel guilty about any of my actions, and it's not just because I don't think about it by actively distracting my mind, but I do it by living a life according to my dharma. I try to follow all my responsibilities as much as possible. I'm honest in my pursuits and actively encourage myself and people to be courageous in their thoughts and actions.
In simple words, do what you are required to do, not what you feel like doing. No matter what we do, we can't keep on twisting the fabric of reality and keep escaping our duties. Nothing and I say nothing, in this life will be without a price. Choose which is right and just, not what feels right. Let me give you a few examples, we didn't study hard enough in college, and as a result, a lot of us never built love towards our work, and just keep hogging like asses for money. As a student, we were supposed to study and now we pay the price. Go ahead and sleep with a bunch of people, and when you actually settle down, you keep comparing your partners with the past ones and never truly fall in deep respectful love. And there are many more such examples.
No one can escape their own conscience, aligning our actions and conscience is hard because we rely on our emotions to make decisions rather than our principles. People happily suffer a crisis when they know why they are doing it, what they are doing, and what is the motivation and justification behind that suffering. And if you do things out of whims not out of principle, not only do you suffer the outside world, but your own guilty conscience.
Anyone who thinks they can get rid of religious archetypes is a fool, try to understand them and align your life to those values, the closer you walk to those values, the less you suffer. Personally, I live a very simple life, with almost no attachment to material things, I care about simplicity and do not value fancy things, my archetypical story comes from the life of Buddha, simple life, and high ideas. And when your actions are aligned with your conscience, your life will be one hell of an adventure, second to none. And if you are dishonest to yourself, then all your adventures are not even yours, they belong to the facade we keep projecting into the world, and the mere happiness we can derive from it is just pure ego.
For me, every day is an opportunity to learn and grow, and rarely do I feel down about life, I live in a very equanimous state. Here's a good way to check your alignment, what will you do if tomorrow morning you get 10 million dollars. Most will lose their mind, they will stop respecting people, and will most likely waste most of their money. But someone who is driven by principle will still be continuing their life in the same way. Believe me, if I get this money tomorrow, I will still wake up early and study like any other day. Money is not going to make me the person I want to be. If money made the man, then we wouldn't have seen the dictators bringing suffering to the world and rich people committing suicide.
Be like Marcus Aurelius, humble, honest, and diligent even when you are the most powerful man in the world. Use your power for good, and for helping others, and keep doing the right things. Stop living a life of internal misery, and embrace your responsibility with honesty.
I can give countless examples of how dishonest most of us are but I don't want to make it into a rant. Be humble, help as much as possible, care more about your character than looks, be dutiful towards your parent and country, learn to do things without monetary benefits, and show gratitude to people around you.
At last, I know most among us don't care about such topics, as morality and whatnot, I don't feel angry or frustrated towards them, but rather a deep sadness at the lost potential of their lives. But it is their life, all I can do with my writing is to lay out the effects of certain actions, choosing the correct path for them.
If you truly want to transform your life, watch and understand god from a philosophical perspective.
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