Connecting Philosophies

Abstract

MIND—The complex organ in human beings that determines the way we think, live. It guides the entire course of our life. The mind is a complex structure. In today’s era we are constantly bombarded with information and the test of time is to take in the right amount of information and use it constructively. The mind can be easily diverted by distractions. In order to understand this flickering nature of mind there was an attempt to dive deep into the analysis of mind by renowned saint of Maharashtra Saint Samarth Ramdas during the sixteenth century. He in his monumental work, The Manache Shlok explored the way to train the mind to think systematically. Manache Shlok literally translates to (Dialogue with the mind). In order to uplift the mind Samarth Ramdas curated an innovative, spiritual way of life and tried to enlighten the fragment of divinity that resides in every human being. He teaches us how our mind is our enemy, friend and a teacher at the same time. This paper primarily focuses on the work of Saint Samarth Ramadas, who centuries ago decoded how the mind (mana) works, how it gets diverted and has also suggested the ways in which flaws can be avoided.Logic based therapy is a modality of philosophical counseling developed by philosopher Dr. Elliot D. Cohen. The theory began with the idea that many emotional and behavioral problems may largely be the result of bad logic. Humans upset themselves because of their faulty thinking. Thinking being the significant activity of the mind, needs to be done in a structured manner. According to LBT, a fallacy is a mistake in reasoning that leads to destructive or negative conclusions. There are eleven such fallacies that LBT identifies. The basic premise in which LBT believes is to train the mind to think rationally and not jumping to make conclusions. In the same manner Manache Shlok are instructions to the mind to train the mind to think positively and thereby lead to elevation of the self. This paper thus is an attempt to link the fallacies proposed by LBT and how comprehension of Manache Shloka {verses} will help the mind stay away from such fallacies by drawing parallels and understanding the contrasts and yet how both the philosophies have a common approach to deal with the mind. The paper is an attempt to understand Manache Shloka and Logic based therapy, as philosophies that are a way to uplift the mind. Both the philosophical approaches have curated their own ways to tackle with the unstable nature of mind, but one common ground which helps them corresponding is their common goal of betterment of mankind.