Last Updated on August 5, 2015
I am writing this article because I have observed how the current collective state of the human ego uses this particular tactic in order to maintain it’s illusions—the tactic of being fanatical about beliefs.
In my experience, fanaticism is often quite rife among those that are starting to wake up from the normal hum-drum view of society and are hence moving into new ways of doing things and relating to life.
What’s the dictionary definition of this word?
Fanatical –
adj : marked by excessive enthusiasm for and intense devotion to a cause or idea;
Fanatic –
Pertaining to, or indicating, fanaticism; extravagant in opinions; ultra; unreasonable; excessively enthusiastic, especially on religious subjects; as, fanatic zeal; fanatic notions.
The ego-mind that perceives itself to be breaking out of ‘normality’ often uses fanaticism as a way to again identify with and attach to that which has no meaning and no real value—namely beliefs and thought-forms about this world, about the illusion without taking it’s illusionary nature into account. If the illusionary nature of the world were taken into account then it would not be possible to be fanatical about or toward it.
Fanaticism can be a form of rigidity. Having said, I can see that in a very limited way it does have it’s purpose. All people, until they set themselves free, are in fact fanatics. The ego-mind is fanatical about “normality” or toward how the mass consciousness in this world perceives the world to be. Because everyone is agreeing on the same illusions it no longer looks like any one is being fanatical. Well, not until I mention to them that the government is control from above and serves that source of control, as opposed to being determined from below—by the votes and wishes of the society it purports to be serving—and serving that which is under it. Or if I mention to most people that the medical system is all about disease and making huge industry around disease with little or no concern for health and well being—again many people get quite mad at me if I mention these things. If you don’t know what I am talking about then try it out sometime—or, depending on how indoctrinated you are, take a look at your own reactions to these statements.
So the ego-mind is ALWAYS fanatical. It always rigidly sticks to its false premise of reality. It is only when an apparently individual expression of ego (one person for instance) decides to break away from the ways of the collective ego that this person is then seen as being fanatical. All that has happened is that this person has changed what they are fanatical about, away from what society is fanatical about.
This individual fanaticism, as I started to share above, does have some purpose. We can use it as a stepping stone in the journey toward changing the dream. For instance, rather than being addicted to and fanatical about watching Television, instead be fanatical and addicted to meditating. Rather than being (silently) fanatical about relying on drugs and the medical system whenever you get sick, start to be fanatical about herbs, nutrition, raw food, etc.
This way we can use the ego as part of our journey out of the dream.
This is, however, a short term tool. Imagine being a soldier loaded up with guns. You’ve followed orders and blasted your way into enemy territory. Then when you are in there you have second thoughts about everything you are doing. You see the pain and suggesting caused by your ways and decide to stop being a military special agent. Yet, there you are deep within an enemy base. So what do you do? Well, the tool that got you in there were these guns. Assuming this is a very hostile situation where negotiating is not an option, the only way out is to again take up your guns and blast your way out. Then, once you are out, you can dump the guns and never use them again. Even after recognising that the guns were not your way any more they still had some limited and very valuable purpose for helping you to break free from what you have fought your way in to.
So the same applies with fanaticism
As an example, the society I live in is incredibly fanatical about eating meat as a way to stay alive. It may not appear this way, because—as mentioned above—everyone generally does it and hence it is considered normal. Yet mention to most meat eaters that there are sound reasons to cease eating meat and many of them will tell you to piss off. They rigidly adhere to the idea that they must eat meat every day.
Then there are those that become vegetarians. These are the ones breaking out of the mass fanaticism Yet very often these people are now fanatical about NOT EATING MEAT. Suggest to them that it might be okay to have meat now and then, or that it is okay for people to simply eat what they feel attracted to eat, and they will also quite likely tell you to “piss off”. Here we have the other side of the meat eating/vegetarian thought-form.
I know which side I would rather be on. Many years ago meat eating simply dropped out of my world. Yet, to maintain my new way in the midst of a society that was fanatical about eating meat I also became fanatical about NOT eating meat. This had a purpose. It helped me establish myself outside the mass ego-mind. Once I felt established there I then dropped being fanatical about not eating meat. I still don’t eat meat but not for any reason other than that I have no appetite for it, and also the fact that I couldn’t bring myself to kill a cow or some other large four-legged creature so I don’t feel I have a right to pay someone else to in order to eat such an animal. I have nothing against meat eating and those that wish to eat meat. Why should I? There’s no valid reason, unless I wish to maintain my own position as a vegetarian which would only suggest that I am not yet established within my SELF which is neither a meat eater nor a vegetarian and actually couldn’t care less which I choose to identify with.
I suspect that what I am referring to here is the ‘middle path’ that is attributed to the the way of the Buddha.
Being fanatical implies belief is being employed to maintain a particular stance on reality. Yet, as I have mentioned elsewhere, belief is ONLY necessary for that which is NOT REAL. It is real that I don’t feel to eat meat. I don’t have to believe anything for that. If tomorrow I had an appitite for a big piece of juicy red meat then that would be real in that moment and the chances are if that feeling lingered around I would go out and buy some beef and eat it. There is no belief required for that either.
I trust that what I have shared in this article makes sense. I could explain it in more detail but I think I’ve said enough. I know that you are intelligent and that this all makes sense. If you have any questions please let me know.
The key point here is that fanaticism must be dropped by everyone eventually if they are going to realise their innate liberation and enlightenment.
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