How to Improve Our Present and Future?

If the root of any system is flawed, that system cannot function properly or efficiently. Problems in the hardware of a system are easy to see because they are physical and visible. As a result, they can often be diagnosed and fixed quickly. Most intellectuals focus on solving these visible and surface-level problems.

But what about the problems that are not visible—those buried deep within the subconscious and unconscious levels of individuals and society? These are mental and spiritual problems—issues related to thought processes, emotions, and overall mindset.

A mindset is the pattern of thinking and feeling that operates automatically. This can be seen as the software of a person or society. In traditional terms, this software is known as culture, and the visible expression of culture is called civilization. This automatic system of thinking is what psychologist Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize winner, referred to as System One in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow.

Both System One (natural, intuitive and automatic) and System Two (logical, calculative and deliberate) are important for human development. However, because System One operates unconsciously snd automatically, we often ignore it. Our schools and institutions mostly focus on System Two—logic, reasoning, and scientific thinking—because these are easy to recognize and analyze.

But we often neglect culture—the automatic and unconscious software of society. Culture is shaped by the historical perception that a society holds. That’s why rulers and the ruling class try to control culture by manipulating or distorting history. They maintain these distortions over time, creating what we might call cultural inertia.

People who ignore the role of culture are usually either uninterested in change or lack the critical thinking required to examine history and culture. Much of what we accept as ancient history contains fraud and conspiracy, passed down through time to protect certain powers, class and systems.

So how do we verify the truth of historical events or cultural beliefs? Many ancient ideas are upheld only for their religious or cultural value, not for their truth. Therefore, we must examine them using scientific and rational tools. Key theories that help uncover historical distortion include:

Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution – helps us understand the natural progression I.e. the evolution of the elements of society and culture.

Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalysis – helps us uncover the hidden motives of historians and historical narratives, i.e. the minds of the historians.

 
Karl Marx’s Scientific Materialism – insists that historical events must be rooted in material reality i.e. tools and forces (factors) of economic power.

 
Albert Einstein’s Relativity, Ferdinand de Saussure's Structuralism, and Jacques Derrida's Deconstruction also useful tools, though they are not primary in general to the above in this context.

If any historical explanation relies purely on divine or supernatural causes, it is likely a myth and should be questioned. Every complex system in today’s world evolved from a simpler origin. If we don’t correct these distortions in history, our efforts at development become nothing more than a performance.

To truly improve our present and future, we must correct the distortions of ancient thinking patterns, that's comes out of  history.

 
Achary Pravar Niranjan Ji
Chairman, Indian Institute of Improvement of Spirituality and Culture