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    Prescription: Treating India's Soul
    Prescription: Treating India's Soul
    Prescription: Treating India's Soul
    Ebook166 pages2 hours

    Prescription: Treating India's Soul

    By Abhijit Naskar

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    About this ebook

    A thousand years ago, India was a land of scientific and philosophical brilliance.
    Over time, science and philosophy started to fade away, and superstition took over people’s minds.

    Today, India is supposedly a land of diversity, corruption, superstitions, misogyny, fake patriotism, sexual assaults, caste discrimination, useless debates among intellectual idiots and fanaticism of religious preachers.
     

    The question is how did a great ancient civilization turn into one of the most miserable nations in the world?
    And is there a way out of this misery?
    In this book, Abhijit Naskar, one of the world’s celebrated neuroscientists and best-selling author, takes us deep into the biological roots of the human mind and reveals to us the actual scientific causes behind India’s present problems.
    In his peerless explanatory ways he shows us an actual way out of this catastrophe.
    He gives us the scientific means to address all the problems of India, and solve them once and for all, in the most practical way possible, without the metaphysical mumbo-jumbo.
    Ancient India was one of the father figures of Modern Science. Now, Modern Science comes to the rescue of its fatherland that has lost its ancient glory.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNeuro Cookies
    Release dateDec 29, 2016
    ISBN9781386315834
    Prescription: Treating India's Soul

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      Book preview

      Prescription - Abhijit Naskar

      PRESCRIPTION

      Abhijit Naskar, one of the world’s celebrated neuroscientists and best-selling author, takes us on a tour inside the vivid and mysterious realm of the human mind in all his scientific works with his peerless explanatory ways. Here in this book, through close observation of the fascinating neurological circuits of the human brain, he shows the path to solve all of India’s problems.

      Also by Abhijit Naskar

      The Art of Neuroscience in Everything

      Your Own Neuron: A Tour of Your Psychic Brain

      The God Parasite: Revelation of Neuroscience

      The Spirituality Engine

      Love Sutra: The Neuroscientific Manual of Love

      Neurosutra: The Abhijit Naskar Collection

      Homo: A Brief History of Consciousness

      Autobiography of God: Biopsy of A Cognitive Reality

      Biopsy of Religions: Neuroanalysis towards Universal Tolerance

      What is Mind?

      In Search of Divinity: Journey to The Kingdom of Conscience

      Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost

      ––––––––

      PRESCRIPTION

      Treating India’s Soul

      ––––––––

      ABHIJIT

      NASKAR

      Prescription

      Copyright © 2017 Abhijit Naskar

      This is a work of non-fiction

      First Published in United States of America, in 2016

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

      Cover Photograph by Debarshi Mukherjee

      Neuro Cookies Edition, 2017

      Acknowledgement

      This book had its beginning during the years when I was roaming around the streets of Kolkata, while pretending to be at the University. I had no idea whatsoever, how was I supposed to proceed in my life. I was walking in immense darkness, until, one person held my hand – Gadadhar Chatterjee. Somehow, the cosmos always brings the mentor and the student together.

      The sufferings I faced in those years, forged the HUMAN out of me. Had I not seen and felt the real Indian agony in my darkest times, this book would have never seen the light of day.

      Finally, there are three people who deserve special mention. Sir Roger Penrose, who showed me the inexplicable domain of scientific introspection. Michael A. Persinger who allured me into the marvelous world of modern Neuroscience. And Ronald Cicurel, whose selfless assistance in giving a mathematical perspective of the human mind has been enormously helpful.

      Contents

      Acknowledgement

      Author’s Note

      Preface

      Chapter 1 Once Upon A Greatness

      Chapter 2 Fairytales of Diversity

      Chapter 3 The Misogyny Complex

      Chapter 4 Corruption of Consciousness

      Chapter 5 The Caste Conundrum

      Chapter 6 The Vaginal Mesmerism

      Chapter 7 The Guru Obsession

      Chapter 8 Soulless Superstitions

      Chapter 9 Real Education

      Chapter 10 What India Needs

      Bibliography

      Author’s Note

      In terms of scientific and philosophical achievements, there are only a few glorious ancient civilizations in human history. Two of them are the ancient Greek civilization, and our beloved India. Perhaps, that is the reason, humans born in this auspicious land of ancient philosophy, metaphysics and even science, feel so damn proud of themselves.

      They pride on their heritage...

      They pride on their divinity...

      They pride on their colorful traditions...

      Their glorious brain circuits of pride never run out of alluring elements of objectivity. And this false pride has become the most lethal cause of their doom.

      Indians feel extremely proud while uttering

      Saare Jahan Se Achha, Hindustan Humaara.

      (Our India is the best among all nations)

      This entire verse is based upon lies, ignorance, falsities and metaphysical non-sense. It doesn’t possess a single bit of truth. It is one of those age-old fairytales which are passed on from generation to generation, without giving a single thought to their authenticity.

      However, before your brain makes its own conclusion, that this book is going to be a philosophical criticism towards India and Indians, I’d like to make something clear right at the beginning.

      Despite being born in this vivacious land, I am neither a critic of this nation nor a nationalist. I am a scientist, and a scientist does not get the luxury to spit out baseless beliefs and thoughts like a nationalist or a critic. In terms of psychology, nationalism is nothing but a sophisticated and overrated form of racism.

      Above all these, I am pain-stricken to say, since the moment I was born, I have found nothing extraordinary in this ancient land of greatness to be exceptionally proud of. I am not a proud Indian. India at its present condition has given me no reason to feel proud.

      However, I do feel proud of the ancient Indians, just like I feel proud of the ancient Greeks, the Mayans, the ancient Egyptians, the Babylonians and so on. Scientists are beyond borders, just like the ancient scientists of India, whom you prefer to call as sages.

      Again, every time you hear the term sage you perceive a supernatural air around it. Quite subconsciously most Indians correlate the term sage with religion. But it has nothing to do with anyone’s religion. Most of the ancient Indians, whom you worship as sages, had no such supernatural, spiritual or divine element in them. Start to perceive those great Indians as scientists, because they were among the earliest great minds whose works laid the groundwork for the evolution of modern science. Thus, I feel proud of all those great minds of human history, from India and from all over the world.

      But, this book is not written by an Indian for the proud Indians to make them feel more proud with metaphysical and political mumbo-jumbo. I don’t do metaphysics. Neither do I have the luxury to talk about my beliefs. Hence, this is not a book of fictitious metaphysical beliefs. This is a book of science written for the concerned Indians, that reveals the path towards treating the national consciousness of India. It points the scientific direction towards not a better India, but better Indians.

      Remember, it is you who needs to transform into a modern human being of the 21st century, not your nation. Your nation shall be defined by the character of each one of you. So, be the change, you want to see in your nation. But, the change has to come through the methods of Science for an actual ever-lasting impact. The path of scientific enlightenment holds the key to solving all your common Indian problems that have reigned over your nation for ages.

      *   *   *

      Preface

      ––––––––

      Philosophy is useless if it is not directed by science. On the other hand, hardcore science only leads to chaos, if it is not driven by philosophy. Science and Philosophy are the two wheels of development of a nation, and thereafter the whole world. If either one fails, the development of a nation gets stuck.

      And this has been the problem with India all along. Moreover, this has been the problem with the Indians for ages. Useless philosophy has overwhelmed the vulnerable minds of the Indians through ages. Their heads have become filled with metaphysical garbage which does not have any practical application whatsoever in this modern age. They pretend too much, and know very little. India is the nation of hypocrisy at its best.

      Till this modern day of extraordinary scientific achievements throughout the world, the common Indians remain cooped up in their tiny cocoon of superstitions, fairytales, fantasies, lies and pride.

      Time and again, glorious characters throughout history have attempted to break that spell of falsity and fantasy. Some of them did indeed succeed, but only for a short period of time. Over time, the filthy moss of pride, fantasies, and lies grows back in the Indians’ psyche, and casts an unbreakable spell on the national Indian consciousness.

      In the present book, once again I make a 21st century scientific attempt with the tools of modern neuroscience, to break that never-ending ancient spell. Chances are that, even after I succeed in doing so, the common Indian mind shall eventually gather the moss again in time, unless the young Indians take charge right now, once and for all.

      The neural network of the middle-aged and older Indians, lacks the biological capability to take the necessary actions to set the progress of India in motion. The so-called experience that the elder generation of India boasts about, has no positive element that can assist in the development of a nation. Scientifically speaking, that experience is useless. Their experience has only been in surviving, not in developing a country. The only people who are biologically capable of transforming the stigmatized soul of India, into a glorious sun on the face of earth, are the Young Indians. Only the young spirit of India has the brain capacity to pull the nation out of the gutter.

      Hence, time and time again, I say to you, the young vivacious minds of India - arise, awake, be fearless, reckless and arrogant in the pursuit of a greater goal, and ignore the ordinary critics as worms.

      * * *

      Chapter 1 Once Upon A Greatness

      ––––––––

      Once upon a time, there was a civilization in the eastern side of the world. It was one of the most advanced civilizations on the planet that existed during that time.

      This civilization was the glorious Indus valley civilization. No, I am not talking about India. I am talking about the land of greatness that got lost in time. Today, in the same geographical location of that great civilization, we have a piece of earth, which is known as India. But do not mistake it to be the same glorious land that existed thousands of years ago, along with other magnificent civilizations, such as the Greeks, the Mayans, the Egyptians, the Babylonians etc.

      You only happen to live in the same land, where there existed individuals of glorious characters in the past.

      Today, the most celebrated achievement of ancient India, is Yoga. The Sutras or laws of Yoga were compiled by the ancient Indian scientist named Patanjali in 400 AD. The term Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root Yog, that means union. Whatever form of Yoga you may practice, the ultimate goal of all Yoga forms is to experience the celestial bliss within yourself.

      Usually, when people hear the term Yoga, many of them associate it with various physical exercises where they need to twist, turn and stretch their body in complex ways that are known as Asanas, but this is only one type of Yoga, called Hatha-Yoga. In reality, Yoga is an umbrella term for various physical and mental exercises that lead to the overall well-being of a person.

      By origin, Yoga has mainly five forms:

      Raja Yoga - The realization of divinity through intense meditation

      Karma Yoga – The realization of divine bliss through your own daily activities and duties

      Hatha Yoga – The realization of divine well-being through various physical exercises

      Jyana Yoga – The realization of inexplicable bliss in the pursuit of knowledge

      Bhakti Yoga – The realization of ecstasy through love and devotion for your Personal God

      The purpose of all Yogas is to set your consciousness lose into the vast domain of the unknown, where your brain circuits simulate various fascinating mental states that are usually unimaginable and unattainable in your everyday consciousness. But the whole yoga thing has nothing to do with God or something of that sort. It is all about various states of the human mind.

      Ancient India was filled with intelligent minds, such as Aryabhatta, Patanjali and many more. The famous mathematician and astronomer Aryabhatta (476-550 AD) was one of the earliest scientific

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