Prof. Muni Mahendra Kumar
Science has now proved that life's processes for man lie almost wholly within himself and are amenable to control. We either progress or retrogress depending on whether we control and subdue or be subdued by our primal drives, animal impulses and carnal desires.
The most basic feelings - primal drives - are the unlearned instincts such as hunger, sex, anger, fear and aggression. Thousands of other emotional responses based on equally powerful feelings, not necessarily instinctual but learned, interact with these primitive drives. They may reinforce a primal drive or countermand it.
Instincts not only generate feelings but also command appropriate action that satisfy the need. Animals just act out instinctive rituals of eating, courtship and fighting, because they do not possess a reasoning mind. Man, on the other hand, because he has the reasoning mind, can control his responses to the insistence of the instinctive drives. Of course, man also does feel angry, hungry or sexually aroused. But he can modify his action.
So far, we had believed that the brain was the source of energy and the place from which the will acted, but now we know that it.is only the repository of memories. The neuroendocrine system is the seat of the impulses of man. For instance, love, hate and fear are endocrine impulses. It is the primitive urge of aggression from the endocrines that will start war and not the brain. All the emotions and impelling forces are the actions of the endocrine expression.
As research deepens our knowledge of coordinatory systems - neuro-endocrine systems, it becomes increasingly apparent that hormones and neuro-hormones participate in every bodily function and have profound influence upon the mental states and tendencies, behavioural patterns as well as emotions of an individual.
The complex of endocrine system includes the pineal, the pituitary, thyroids, para-thyroids, thymus, adrenals, gonads, pancreatic islets and the hormone-producing part of the gastrointestinal tracts. All these glands are comparatively small, are ductless and have access to rich visceral supply. The entire system, aptly called endocrine orchestra, works in harmony. The known methods of inter-communication are electrical impulses of the nerve action and the chemical messengers.
It has now been established by the use of bio-feed-back and other scientific measuring equipments that meditation has the power to produce changes in the electrical activity of the nervous system as well as transmute the synthesization of the outpourings of hormones from the endocrine system. The operational efficiency of meditation and its capacity to influence and transmute the activities of the neuro-endocrine system is scientifically established.
And since mental tendencies and human behaviour are almost completely governed by the integration of neuro-endocrine products, transmutation of the latter must produce the desired development of the integrated personality of man. Removal of all psychological distortions - hate, fear, cruelty etc. through transmutation of chemical messengers will immensely strengthen the power of the unique human attributes - rational thinking and conscious reasoning. Pain and suffering are inevitable consequences of evil distortions such as cruelty, vindictiveness, militarism etc. Reasoning mind itself abhors pain and will never wish to inflict injury, let alone kill or start a war. Such barbarous actions are demanded by powerful psychological distortions only. Once endocrine secretions are modified and controlled by psychological explosive will be defused and lose their power to overwhelm and distort the rational judgement - constant and regular.
