I'm continuing to enjoy Tim Urban's book, What's Our Problem? A Self-Help Book for Societies.
He's a wonderfully creative thinker. It's rare that I can read 245 pages of a non-fiction book without coming across something that just seems wrong to me. But Urban's arguments are so compelling and well stated, so far he's convinced me of the rightness of every point he's made.
Recently I read his take on free speech. I'll just describe a few aspects of what he says about this important topic, which is enshrined in the United States constitution in a way that few other countries can match: The First Amendment says that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.
However, private organizations can restrict speech. And various influences, including cultural norms, can make it difficult or awkward for someone to speak freely. Urban writes:
Putting the Higher Mind and Primitive Mind aside for a minute, let's break every human into two parts another way: their Outer Self and their Inner Self. The Inner Self represents what a person thinks; the Outer Self represents what a person says. If we take any given topic, we can depict each of their viewpoints by where they're standing on the Idea Spectrum, and by the color of their head:
We can combine these using a shorthand notation. And we can color these to show what a person is thinking (brain color) and what they're saying (ring color). When a person is being honest and saying what they really think, the two colors are the same, allowing the thoughts of the Inner Self to pass unimpeded through the Outer Self and out into the world.
So, for example, when three people are having a conversation about a topic and everyone is saying what they really think, their brains link together into a three-brain thinking system:
In Chapter 1, we saw how human brains can have emergent properties, combining together into larger superbrains called genies. This only happens when the brains actually connect, which they do by way of expression.
So when people are able to speak their mind freely, good things can happen. This is a foundation of brainstorming. And of psychotherapy, scientific discussions, conversations with friends -- the list is almost endless of positive results through free speech. However...
When a person isn't allowed to say what they think, their ideas become quarantined inside their head, isolated from the outside world. From the communal brain perspective, where each individual human mind is a single neuron in a larger brain, it's as if the axons of the neurons have been hijacked, and any real neural communication ceases.
When I was an active member of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), an India-based religious organization headed up by a guru, for several years I did quite a bit of speaking on behalf of RSSB at meetings called satsangs.
That word literally means association with truth. Yet often there was a large difference between the truth of what RSSB members were thinking inside their brains and what they were saying outwardly in public.
Frequently I'd say something in a satsang along the line of "The easiest RSSB vow to keep is the prohibition against revealing inner mystical experiences, because hardly anyone is having any." Usually some people would come up to me after I'd finished speaking and say, "Thanks for saying what you did. I thought I was the only person who felt this way."
Urban writes:
A phenomenon that psychologists call "pluralistic ignorance" begins to set in when no one believes, but everyone thinks that everyone believes. Over time, hearing everyone expressing the same viewpoint, people start to doubt their own beliefs and assume that if everyone is saying it, there must be something to it.
...Throughout human history, clever opportunists have discovered that if you could control what people say, you could write the story people believed. You could dictate the values, the morals, and the customs. You could decide who the good guys were and who the bad guys were. You could create the laws, dole out the rewards, and inflict the penalties. If you could write the narrative, the group became your marionette.
The most effective puppet masters came up with depictions of reality that tapped directly into people's Primitive Minds. Some would stoke fear with stories of imminent danger or invoke rage toward a common enemy to fuel the Primitive Mind's natural fires. Or they might write stories of their own ruthlessness and inflict fear of torture and death on subjects.
Others would claim knowledge of the divine in order to bring the afterlife into the picture and drive incentives to astronomical heights.
Free speech is an antidote to these negative outcomes.
Beyond protecting against tyranny, free speech laws open the gates to a dynamic free-speech market -- the marketplace of ideas. In the marketplace of ideas, scientists freely do their research, philosophers freely philosophize, activists freely protest, journalists freely report, and artists and comedians freely challenge norms and test the edges of what's socially acceptable.
If the market's "supply" is made up of the ideas of millions of free-speaking humans, "demand" consists of millions of free-listening ears. To win the key currency of the market -- attention and influence -- ideas have to outcompete other ideas in the market.
In the same way that a free economic market has a natural tendency to push bad products to the fringes while elevating the rest, the marketplace of ideas serves as a vast information filter. Ideas are stripped naked and analyzed from every angle. This exposes and embarrasses false or unwise ideas and prevents them from spreading too widely.
The marketplace of ideas is messy, and it doesn't always succeed at sorting right from wrong and good from bad, but it's a far better system than the alternative: allowing the most powerful people to decide what's true and what's good.
Freedom of speech in RSSB doesn't exist although gurinder (the crook pretending to being a guru.) says do your research as long as its rssb, brainwashing material, attend brainwashing satsang and you surrender your mind , body, and soul. Gurinder also says at many satsangs not to believe the internet, and definitely don't research into his own background - that is a big no no.
Gurinder dhillon also encourages questions as long as you want as long as they are vetted to a few safe topics, and avoiding gurinder personal, corrupt, life. What has this crook got to hide ?? So how can you have free speech in RSSB when you are told what to ask, what to read, be humble, bow down, stand inline, put up and shut up. Also if you do get to ask the questions you really want to, you trigger the brainwashed sangats disapproval, and may even be tackled by the security sevadars or banned. People are too scared, and live in fear of being disapproved by gurinder , who is regarded as a god in human form who holds the sangats souls keys ino heaven - which is a massive abuse of power , a control mechanism to abuse the brain dead sangat. But , gurinder Singh dhillons days are numbered and the scales will be balanced.
Posted by: Kranvir | January 04, 2025 at 02:41 PM
The right of free speech is a liberating thing in many countries compared to the countries that severely limit what you can say (especially if it questions the ruling regime). Sadly, I do abhor the growing trend of abusing free speech to verbally insult, belittle and defame people based on misinformation and fabricated stories.
I also think that to be able to think freely is as important (if not more) than free speech. Many of the abuses of free speech emanate from those who have been indoctrinated whether it’s religious, political or any system that imposes rigid restrictions and taboos on what and how to think.
Of course, the question of what is right or wrong is very complex (and perhaps impossible). Research shows that different brains perceive and respond differently to the world about them. All we can go by is the constitutional rules that we live by – but again, they are subject to being misused and wilfully misinterpreted to further personal objectives.
Posted by: Ron E. | January 05, 2025 at 06:12 AM
Free speech in religion isn't Free, Gurinder Singh Dhilion and Radha Soami Cult makes sure of that.
Gurinder limits everything which is free from a person's family to friends , all thinking, a person's wealth and health.
Theres No such thing as free speech in a Cult like Radha Soami.
Everything is controlled and contradicting, Gurinder himself is the perfect example of pure contradicting lies and a master of one.
He himself goes on like a pratt wherever he goes, saying too much at times but hey its free speech. But you have none by the way
We all have a right don't we, No we don't if we believe in Gurinders malicious lies
Inner experiences within Radha Soami don't really happen, even if they do which one might get a glimpse at times if he's lucky, it never is the truth only the Devils little tricks to keep the satsangi there where he wants you.
What do you expect you have only been doing the Devils Bhajan and Simran you were never going to uncover the truth ever, no never.
So that's why these rules are made up don't talk about your inner experiences within Radha Soami Cult as it could lead the cat out the bag and people could find out the ugly truth about Gurinder Singh Dhilion and reality of Radha Soami Cult total bull
Free speech and Freedom is something that you will never get from Gurinder Singh Dhilion and the Radha Soami Cult
Throw this trash away and be Free and live the life you so deserve
Posted by: Trez | January 05, 2025 at 11:36 AM
"Frequently I'd say something in a satsang along the line of "The easiest RSSB vow to keep is the prohibition against revealing inner mystical experiences, because hardly anyone is having any." Usually some people would come up to me after I'd finished speaking and say, "Thanks for saying what you did. I thought I was the only person who felt this way.""
This would be brave work if you were in the cheap seats and speaking as a non-believer. But you were leading the satsang, and no doubt your overall theme to the sangat was that the RSSB path is perfect even without the light and sound show.
" . . . often there was a large difference between the truth of what RSSB members were thinking inside their brains and what they were saying outwardly in public."
Leading us to infer a lot of satsangis boast or lie about their inner journeys? I thought you wrote elsewhere that your satsangi friends confessed they weren't witnessing fireworks? Anyway, I've never met any four flushers in any Sant Mat group.
Posted by: sant64 | January 06, 2025 at 01:07 PM
@ Sant64
Every where , where something is given, taught, produced etc and CONSUMED, there are two completely different worlds., worlds that cannot be bridged.
The world of those that mourn in a crematorium and those that perform the rites and the the practice are such that both have no clue whatsoever of the other world .. in any given moment.
The same is with the artist, the painter, the composer etc and the consumer
It SEEMS that they participate in the same world but that is an illusion
The world of the believers, the students, the seekers the devout ...you name them, and those that are responsible for the teachings is in the same way separate from one another by a wall. Only the further you stand back, no longer part of either side of the wall, you start to understand it.
What satsangis believe to be santmat is just the secretion of their own brain ..it can be lofty, lovely or whatever, ... everything is possibly;e ...but it has nothing to do with the teachings at all.
And without the desire to be offensive to anybody ...most, if not all are not at all interested in what a teacher says as long as they speak of "MY" guru, teacher etc.
It is all a psychological game and these guru's at least those that I was involved with, all did understand this psychological game ... they were all outstanding psychologists.
Only by ending your role as "Consumer" there is hope. ..hope to understand, appreciate, and maybe more.
Posted by: um | January 06, 2025 at 01:39 PM
and
as long as you go on TALKING about a guru, be it positive or hate full,
you have understood NOTHING
NOTHING
NOTHING
NOTHING ..at all
It is all about >>
Y O U
and ...
YOU .... A L O N E
You cannot give the keys of your live to anybody!
You may, make it appear that somebody else knows but it will not work
They keys are in "Your house"
AND ..it is my understand that YOU KNOW IT but you do not want to know it as it is more comfortable to think otherwise.
These gurus know and you cannot fool them but only yourself.
It is kindness on their part that they go and sit there for you to be questioned.
Hahahaha listen for once carefully and you will understand
Posted by: um | January 06, 2025 at 01:51 PM