Biology of thought and being

Biological understanding of the brain reveals it clearly to be made of two hemispheres — left and right. Left brain is the linear thinking part that has the concept of time, space and separation. Right brain is the part that gets engaged when time is not felt — in moments of great awe and child like wonder, intimacy, being lost in music etc. Everyone of us is naturally endowed with both these faculties that are necessary to have a fully conscious experience.

All goals come from the left brain. It operates in terms of time, wanting, fear etc. It is a necessary by-product of evolution for survival related concerns. It extends to scientific thinking — the need to understand nature, make sense of it and use that understanding to create tools and gadgets that makes survival possible and comfortable. But the very movement toward making survival go beyond the comfortable into luxury and pleasure is when the left brain goes from being a useful tool to taking control of the organism. The servant becomes the master. Pursuing luxury and pleasure gives the illusion that happiness is a product of time, something postponed to the future. This same thinking then extends to other realms such as ideologies, religion etc. Communist ideology for instance posits a future utopia and justifies all kinds of evil in pursuit of that utopia. Same with many organized religions that postulate a paradise in time and space. And so with even the subtle goals of enlightenment, radical transformation etc which ironically make living free of goals into a goal in time or turn being into becoming.

Instead if the left brain finds its right place, then perhaps we can escape the self-made trap of wanting to derive happiness and peace through the illusory mental constructs of the left brain. Then it is engaged only for what it is meant — to make a comfortable living, learn any skills necessary for living, help others reach that level of comfort through scientific, technological and other necessary applications of thought.

And the right brain which is not in the realm of time or linear thinking at all automatically takes over when left brain activity is not necessary. The more one gets rooted in the right brain, the more perhaps the left brain activity doesn’t cloud the right brain’s sense of simply being that constantly remains in the background. This is perhaps what Ramana Maharshi meant by comparing the sense of being to the base note in music, that always goes on regardless of whether there is lead music in the form of thought activity or not.

Now if we turn to the religious iconography of the “ardhanari” (half woman) form, we see Shiva as the right side and Shakti as the left. This fits perfectly with the biological understanding of the brain.

The right brain which is connected to the right side of the chest is the sense of simply being — pure consciousness without any content, Shiva.

The left brain which brings about time, space, the world, the individual, and all the goals and desires that make action possible — the content of consciousness, Shakti.

And the right side seems connected seamlessly to the whole. There is no division there. So when one abides in the right, there is no personality, no individuality, no time, no space — just a pure sense of being, connected oneness and peace. Hence the feeling of being rising from the right side of the chest which everybody instinctively refers to as ‘I’ and also the Biblical statement, “the wise man’s heart is at his right” — both pointed out by Ramana Maharshi many times.

In practical terms, this means that to be free of compulsive thinking which is at the root of all identifications and conflicts and robs man of the peace that shines within, one needs to be supremely alert to one’s own left brain activity so that it is turned off immediately after it is not needed. A conscious awareness of the activity of the brain goes a long way toward ensuring that the left brain circuitry doesn’t go into overdrive. On the other hand, reading excessively and trying to understand, discuss and figure “it” out through thinking never seems to get us any closer because these activities are firmly of the left brain and only help strengthen that which needs to be overcome. Instead a heartfelt devotional chant that one connects to from the depth of being or silently watching the left brain activity and gently asking ‘who is engaged in this activity’ can unplug the left brain so that the ever present silence of the right side can shine forth.