Delusions – Part 3

I’ve covered some delusions in the blogs – Maya, Delusion Part 2 & Blog 97: 7 Delusions that can hold you back! We’ve also seen that the antidote to delusion is awareness. It’s not knowing something that causes it. In this blog, however, I’ve made a list of categories of delusions. There’ll be variants of the same in people. By this, I hope it helps in the process of detection and busting the delusions.

Before we see the categories, I should remind you again how powerful these are. “Yadh Bhavo Thadh Bhavathi”. Our thoughts can make our world. By being in these delusions, your life will be limited and sometimes even set for destruction.

• Delusion of scarcity – This is when one thinks there is a lack of resources or the ability to access them when, in reality, abundance is available to everyone. You must decipher how to access it from your particular situation. But for that to happen, one must first be aware of the previous point – abundance is available to everyone. Once one is aware or has realized that truth, the mind works to find the path through which that might be possible.
• Delusion of negative results – we could say this is who are called pessimists. A negative result is anticipated for any action. As mentioned in the previous point, similarly here, only if you realize that a positive result is also a possibility, then only will the mind be able to come up with ways to realize it. And again, “Yadh Bhaavo, Thadh Bhavathi”.
• Delusion of complete control – This is why people are obsessed with tiny things, and when things don’t go their way, they get frustrated and angry at themselves and the people around them. Complete control is an utter delusion. Till we realize that there will be some kind of frustration involved in whatever we do. Once we realize it, there’s a huge sense of peace that comes from surrendering. By surrendering, I don’t mean inaction. Surrendering after you’ve done your best.
• Delusional sense of good ( everything I have is the ultimate there is. Ex: my wife is the most beautiful, etc. ) – I have seen people in their little worlds telling everyone they meet that what they have is the ultimate. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about contentment here, This is neither gratitude nor contentment. If you’re content or grateful, you do not feel the need to get validation from anyone else. Read The Gratitude Trap here. And thinking whatever you have and/or are the ultimate is the beginning of one’s decay. Nothing comes out of comfort & complacency.
• Delusional sense of accomplishment – This one’s also similar to the previous one but has a very significant distinction. Here, it is specifically about one’s accomplishment that one is deluded of. When he/she thinks highly of one’s own accomplishment, that’s the beginning of complacency and through it decay. I’ve seen people being overly proud on the day of their engagement, getting a job that they don’t even like or one in which they are not even good at, or for their spouse or parent’s accomplishments. If everyone else has it, how’s it an accomplishment? Do you feel you’ve achieved something because you have working hands and eyes? We need to feel grateful for sure, but not proud or any sense of accomplishment, isn’t it?
• Delusion of uniqueness – Or delusion of “life is unfair” (it is so to everyone) – Many assume it’s only them that has gone through a subset of problems. The specific nature or medium of the problem might be slightly different, but the larger set of the subset is experienced by many. Moreover, even if your problem is unique to you, there’s no need for romanticizing the problem.
• Delusion of time – Some people are so deluded in terms of time that it seems as though they have no idea of the mortal nature of every life on this planet, including themselves. For some people, this will be in the form of non-acceptance of a simple concept such as aging. We are aging every day, aren’t we? Somehow, people make it into a complexity in themselves. Just because you avoid mentioning your date of birth or age doesn’t make you any younger, right? Of course, there are so many other aspects that emerge out of this delusion. When there’s no realization of our mortal nature, there’s no urgency/drive in anything, and hence, even the quality & quantity of life experience. A bloated ego, jealousy, greed, etc., can be attributed to the same delusion. You, me & everyone are here for a very limited time. Most don’t realize this.
• Delusion of knowing (worst of all) – If you observe these kinds of people, you’ll notice they listen very little to anyone. As soon as someone says anything, they’ll have their own story about it; some even abruptly start their own theories or stories. No matter what topic you raise, they’ll have something to say about it, but not just that,  they’ll have the attitude that they know about that topic more than anyone else in that (any) room or even they know all about any topic. We’ve seen people destroying themselves and their families along with them with this delusion, right? The most dangerous of all. We had discussed this exclusively in Blog 11: Perception of Awareness

Thank You

Sanath Kumar