Emotional balance is a conscious effort: (KNOW YOUR DEATH - 6)

                                        

Intellect has to be watched to improve the karma.

We are what our deep, driving desire is. As our deep, driving desire is, so is our will. As our will is, so is our deed. As our deed is, so is our destiny. — Upanishad.

As seen from the flow chart the intellect has the option to select only from the desires/emotions which emerge. In order to understand the natural emotions which normally emerge in a human mind let us discuss the evolution of the emotions in the journey of the evolution of life. Let us start with the working of brain. 

Western research throws ample light on the working of brain though there are still many unexplored areas.

Brain composition

All human beings are born with brains divided into three parts –

Cortex                   (The cerebral hemispheres)

Limbic system     (the hippocampus, the amygdalae and the hypothalamus)

Reptilian brain    (The brain stem and cerebellum)

The cortex- It handles learning, abstract thoughts and imagination. This comes into the practical use in most children after they are seven years old. Before that age, children do not have the mental tools to make intellectual assessment. The cortex is where logic resides and where we do the higher level reasoning that separate us from all other animals.

The Limbic system – It deals with emotions. Emotions are never simple. In fact, they are often surrounded with contradictions. The limbic brain is structured between birth and age five. It depends largely on a child’s relationship with mother from whom child receives warmth, love and a strong sense of connection. It is very rare to experience that with father. Because of this relationship with mother, the limbic has a strong feminine side. It is human find that in struggle between intelligence and emotions, the limbic part often comes on top as we are much more likely to allow our heart to guide us than the reason.

Reptilian brain – The undisputed champion of three brains is the reptilian brain. The name comes from this regions similarity to the brains of reptiles, which are believed to be relatively unchanged from the brains their predecessors has 200 million years ago. Our reptilian brain programs us for two major things – survival and reproduction. These are, of course, our most fundamental instincts. If we could not survive and reproduce, our species would end. The reptile brain is, thus, more influential than the rest of two brains. Physical attraction for instance, has a strong reptilian dimension. Because survival is more fundamental to our existence than 'feeling good' or ‘making sense', the reptilian brain always rules the day. In a battle between logic, emotions and instinct, the reptilian brain always wins. This is true when one is dealing with personal welfare, human relationship, purchasing decisions and even the choice of a leader. Like individuals, cultures have a very strong reptilian dimension.

We do the overwhelming majority of our learning when we are children. By the time, we are seven, most of our mental highways have been constructed. But emotions continue to provide us with new imprints throughout our lives. Thus in the path of evolution and also in the path of growth in life naturally the survival instinct comes first followed by likings (self-centered emotions and thoughts) and final consideration goes to logic or conscious sense.

The emotional Brain

It’s the most common experience that feelings prevail over most of our decisions and actions more than thoughts. Pure rational behaviour, measured by Intelligence Quotient (IQ), is often stressed upon but seldom comes to the fore; translated into action. Emotional brain indeed gets the better half of thoughts. It happens in fractions of seconds much before we understand. Later on, rational mind, which has comprehended all in the meanwhile, presents facts. We may jump with joy or burst into tears in certain situations, that’s emotional reaction. After some time, rational mind may make us realize that it was a bit of an ‘overreaction’.

The hippocampus and amygdale were the two key parts of the primitive brain, which gave a rise to the 'cortex' and then the 'neo cortex'. The amygdale deals with emotions. It acts as a storehouse of emotional memory and thus life without amygdale, is a life stripped of personal meanings. All passions depend on it. Joseph Le Doux, USA, was the first to discover the key role of amygdale in the emotional brain. His research explains how the amygdale can take control over what we do even as the thinking brain, the neo cortex, is still coming to decision.

That’s why we act first and wonder later how we could act like this. The amygdale makes us spring to action while neo cortex, though little slowly, unfolds its more refined plan for reaction. Other research has shown that in the first few mille seconds of our perceiving something, we not only unconsciously comprehend what it is, but decide whether we like it or not, the 'cognitive unconscious' presents our awareness with not just the identity of what we see but an opinion about it. Our emotions have mind of their own, one which can hold views quite independently of our rational mind.

In short, the brain has two memory systems, one for simple facts and other for emotional charged ones. A special system for emotional memories makes an excellent sense in evolution, of course, ensuring that animals would have particularly vivid memories of what threatens or pleases them.

Evolution of the mind through emotions:

Though the emotions have evolved with time, basic instincts like fear are something we are born with and they are part of the reptile brain. Anger was developed and carried forward in the next step of progress of the limbic system.  The growth of the cortex and especially neo-cortex gifted humans with wisdom, courage and peace. The development of the brain throughout the life also follows the same pattern from pre-natal stage to the fully grown-up stage. Though it all depends on conditioning and training mind right from preconception stage, it’s because of instincts like fear and self-defense, some so called ‘negative’ emotions may ride over whereas positive emotions are earned over with deliberation as they were evolved and not something, we were already born with.

The survival instinct was very predominant in primitive men. Perhaps, this might have led on to procreation to carry forward the legacy. The Sex (Kama) was the next instinct. With direct threat to survival, instinct of fear emerged. Out of this developed anger, (Krodha). Kama and Krodha are the emotions for the survival and existence. They were basic instincts of stone-age men and to some extent, they are also the essential requirements for the modern man.

Primitive man created defense mechanisms like attacks or weapons for self-protection. Realization of victory is what could have taken to greed (Lobha). A streak of success and supremacy was most likely grown into self-superiority (Mada). During this process of evolution, which must have continued for thousands years, the brain developed the limbic cortex over the initial reptile brain. With domination, what emerged could have been envy and affection, (Matsar, Maya). The process of thinking is associated with the emergence of cortex portion in the brain. The refinement of the emotions, both, good and bad, continued and so were feelings evolved. This was possible as the brain added layers of Neo- cortex to the cortex. Evolution from instincts to emotions is somewhat simultaneous to development of human brain. 

Emotional balance is a conscious effort: Ashtang Yoga by Patanjali shows the way. 

A human being is equipped with a brain with a phenomenal capacity to pursue both, good and bad things. We have seen that certain negative reactions or emotions could be impulsive because of fear and survival instincts. Nevertheless, rest of the emotions and feelings, from anger to envy are to do with human progress. In advanced form, they are cultivated and not something we were born with.

This is where proper conditioning and mental discipline come into play. Capacities of brain still largely remain unexplored.  The neurologists and the psychologists hold distinctly different views. With researches, new abilities and specialties of the human brain are being discovered.

         

Instinct based desires as above emerge and can form the basis of Karma. Intellect takes decisions on its intention and priority. In order to study the nature of intellect, let us see later how this is classified in different ways. The ways and means to achieve the conscious emotional balance are best explained in the eastern philosophy. Let us briefly go through these details in the articles to follow.

Vijay R. Joshi.