Throwing light over wrong places - A Mullah nasruddin tale

On one night,

 a villager saw wise old man Mullah nasruddin searching for something under a street lamp.

The villager asked Mullah what he is searching for.

Mullah said he is looking for his lost keys that he dropped in the bushes,

which are away from the lamp post .

Villager asked if he has dropped the key in the bushes why he is looking for it under the lamp post.

To that Mullah replied, that is where the light is.

It is common knowledge that

No one would look for a lost object where light is just because there is light.

But, it is Mullah’s tale, so there must be an another layer to it like in all other Mullah tales

Here, what Mullah implies without saying is, we all do it all the time.

That is looking for causes in the wrong places or throwing light over wrong places.

Now,

for anything gone wrong or any problem, there must be causes.

And causes can be either external or internal.

External causes are in the world and in others.

Internal causes are our own thoughts, opinions, prejudices, beliefs, values etc.

We have knowledge and some hold on the external factors because 

they are under the light of our awareness.

What we don’t notice is, we almost have no awareness of our internal factors like opinions or prejudices.

We are not aware in the sense that we consider our opinions as facts or truths

but not as opinions which are amendable.

This applies not only to surface level opinions 

but also to deeper level prejudices, values, beliefs etc.

In short, it applies to all our psychological conditionings.

These causes are in the dark and accessible only to reflection.

Otherwise, they pass on like facts or truths.

One author said that our mind is on auto pilot mode as far as its conditionings goes.

Most of the time,

We are unaware or unable to reflect upon them with any sincerity and we just roll on.

This would cause problems and in this case we are the source of problems and also unaware.

Moreover,

In such situations, we are inclined to find or associate causes to external factors 

because we are not aware of the causes which are deep within us.

This is similar to those who have anxiety problem.

Their mind always finds external factors as cause of their anxiety

 – a crowded bus and also an empty bus.

The real cause is deep inside, which they can’t decipher.

It is more like, driving in the wrong lane and blaming others for mishaps.

In other words, searching for a lost object where there is light as Mullah did.

On the physical plane, it is relatively simple to identify causes or our short comings.

For instance,

If a person of short stature takes up basket ball as his sport, 

he will invariably face formidable obstacles.

This being physical, he can easily see that he has chosen the wrong sport for his physique

and there is nothing wrong with the game or its rules.

But, in the psychological sphere, it is not that easy to see things clearly.

One needs to reflect and throw light inside to see whether anything is wrong with the perception.

Even if one is able to reflect, it is also not easy to acknowledge when one is wrong.

This is because one’s self image is built on one's opinions, values, beliefs etc,( imposed & cultivated) as one grow up.

So, when someone questions one’s opinion,

It is perceived as a danger to the psychological body (ego), just as one perceives danger to the physical body.

Immediate reaction would be to defend one’s views or way of doing things.

This is reaction, not a response.

But, unless the issues inside are addressed without egoistic tendency.

One would be constantly creating problems for himself and continue to throw light on wrong places without relief.

So, throwing light inside is imperative to address such problems effectively.

And, it requires honesty on one’s part to reflect and amend opinions, values, prejudices etc.

Then,

If one discovers joy in honesty, it would make reflection easier and heartfelt.

This would help in resolving problems and also aid one in the path of self discovery.

Mullah nasruddin’s  naughty tale is simple demonstration in the physical sphere,

what one normally does in the psychological sphere.

And this tale has thrown light in the right direction and shows the importance of self reflection
and that may lead one to discover the authentic self.