A weak mind: the absence of truth

Marcus Aurelius writes in his Meditations five signs of a weak mind: "Surrendering control to external circumstances; complaining and playing the victim; seeking external validation and obsessing over others' opinions; letting uncontrolled emotions dictate actions; and resisting the present moment and avoiding duty."

For me, the intriguing question is how to develop a strong mind.

The other day, I had a seasonal flu attack. To offset its malaise, I decided to watch a movie and selected Reporting Live. The movie relates the turbulent journey the two journalists venture on to unravel the truth. The two characters, after facing ineluctable trials and tribulations – though they stagger for a while – succeed in unearthing the truth. But very few moments later, they are murdered in a plotted road accident.

To evade facing or speaking the truth is the cause of all mental and physical ills. To bury the truth nine feet deep under the weight of compromises is tantamount to burying one's own existence. It stifles the soul; it clips the wings of imagination; it deprives man of a dignified life.

The antonym of truth is not falsehood; it is compromise or expediency. Apprehensions of bad consequences we might reap for treading the path of truth might force us to make existential compromises. Some might be thinking, "It's easier said than done." Yes, the path of truth never runs smooth.

Suffocating censorship rampant at various levels and in fluid forms discourages truth seeking and speaking. Government employees are barred from pointing out loopholes in government policies. The proverbial Vigo Dala, the threat of being shown the door, and social stigmatisation stalk us away from pursuing the truth. Truth is now deemed to exist in textbooks only. Slowly and steadily, we are becoming a nation of weak minds, showing little resistance to injustice. A nation mired in existential worries cannot afford to pursue the truth.

Yes, a weak mind surrenders control to external circumstances as he lacks grit to lock horns with circumstances. He terms it a foolhardy attitude to fight for truth and gives in to expediency. He adopts a pleasant demeanour and finds solace in agreeing with all. It is advised to keep everything in moderation, even moderation itself, as its cloyed excess reeks of hypocrisy.

In this age of social media, where everyone's worth is calibrated on the number of views, likes, comments and shares, the epidemic of external validation finds the most suitable clime for its growth. Social media facilitates us to cash in on our patina and hide our inner truth of failure to face the truth. It will widen the chasm between our inner real and outer assumed, resulting in utter chaos of mind and heart.

Seeking external validation often leads to playing victim all the time. The 'sinned against more than sinning' attitude shears us off all the responsibility and accountability of contributing our part in turning the circumstances untoward. Excuses and subterfuge abound in the repertoire of a truth-evader.

Truth is an objective serving as a lodestar to direct our wayward thoughts and actions towards our destination. Having an illusory pivot of our cognition leads us to lose control of our actions to emotions.

A weak mind always demurs at facing the truth. It procrastinates at the right moment and behaves emotionally at the spur of the moment. Yes, the Prince Hamlet, the epitome of intellectual fickleness. A languid or livid activation originates in intolerance of truth. A mind that transforms knowledge into actions is always a strong mind.

No need, at the very least, is there to fear the false because they are inherently weak. Montaigne says that a liar is "brave towards God and a coward towards men". The loudest one in the room is the weakest one in the room. The urge to confront them springs from the truth you are going to stand by.

Francis Bacon, in his essay, Of Truth, compares the utter bliss of standing on the truth with the pleasures of viewing natural beauty: "... but no pleasure is comparable to the standing upon the vantage ground of truth (a hill not to be commanded, and where the air is always clear and serene), and to see the errors and wanderings and mists and tempests in the vale below."