The 'Gollum' Effect
Science of Obsession
Our latest trip to New Zealand took us to the Hobbiton movie set, where a portion of the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies were filmed. This trip inspired me to revisit my favorite books from a different time in my life- the famous ‘Lord of the Rings’ series by J.R.R Tolkien. He was the original mastermind behind fantasy fiction, inspiring an entire genre with his timeless books. He created an entire world- called ‘Middle Earth,’ replete with diverse species, their genealogies, languages, cities, landscapes, and cultures while weaving numerous philosophical lessons into the story.
As I contemplated the books and their various characters, I was reminded of a very unique, noteworthy creature in the series that made quite an impression on me. This creature was famously called ‘Gollum’. His original name was Smeagol, but when he came across a very valuable but dark ring of immense powers, he fell prey to its allure- committing heinous crimes and leading a wretched life of drudgery, deception, and degradation.
‘The Gollum Effect’
Obsession of Mind
Thus, he became consumed by the ‘One Ring’. He was often known to call this ring ‘My precious’ implying his crippling addiction and obsession with this dark object. The Ring's malignant influence, overwhelming power over his body and mind, and dependence on the ring is a beautifully described episode in the series. Gollum keeps appearing in the books as he pursues the ring when it is stolen from him. We see him completely corrupted by its remarkable attraction, an unfortunate but poetic transformation.
He is often perceived as a tragic character who is not inherently evil but broken and abused by the One Ring. The ring tended to wield incredible power over the minds of such corrupt people and control them in horrific ways. Even the incredibly powerful people succumbed to its allure and lost control of their faculties.
Drawing parallels from the Middle Earth of Tolkien, in our physical world – we see a variety of extremely attractive sense objects (called ‘Vishaya’- in Sanskrit) that lure our senses, mind, and intelligence and captivate them. Such seemingly benign attraction progresses to dependence, addiction, and finally obsession- I call this: ‘The Gollum Effect.’
‘My Precious’
Vishaya- the sense objects
Ancient Vedic wisdom texts like the Bhagavad Gita describe the nature of the living entity, of this world, their position, identity, and relationship with each other. This helps one to understand why such obsessions occur.
The real self (‘Soul’- Living entity) is trapped within this material body and perceives the world through the senses, mind, and intelligence. The senses and mind by themselves are very weak and tend to become captivated and consumed by the unwanted objects of this world, leading to a variety of abuses, e.g., the addictions of an alcoholic, a smoker, a shopaholic, a sex addict, or a drug seeker. These well-known addictives are extremely powerful and damaging to one’s consciousness, the real self. Yet they tend to snare the senses and mind very quickly in their vile grasp. Other less potent but even more widely abused ‘Vishaya’ are TV, candy, sugar, soda, bed/couch, video games, smartphones, and social media, among others.
Other than the fictional character of Smeagol turning into Gollum after being ensnared by the ring, numerous other stories in the literature and history depict the unfortunate consequences of such harmful association. One of the stories mentioned in ancient wisdom literature is that of Ajamil- a famous narration about a man captivated by extreme lust for a prostitute. He gave up his life of morality, religion, and piety and instead chose a despicable life with the prostitute, giving up his wife and parents. Thus, he wasted his precious life in pursuit of something worthless, criminal, and sinful.
Causation and Prevention
Get the Hierarchy of Elements right.
Bhagavad Gita teaches us to understand our true identity as the ‘soul,’ a spiritual entity that should avoid undue contact with matter, especially the harmful matter that can potentially corrupt the consciousness. The living entity is trapped within the physical body- consisting of senses, mind, and intelligence. These elements tend to gravitate towards the pleasure-inducing material objects of this world.
One should train their intelligence with knowledge and mind with routine practice to ignore these cravings caused by the senses. Thus, discriminatory intelligence and mental endurance should be cultivated to avoid undue association with the world, especially refraining from fixation on harmful objects.
Correct Hierarchy of Elements: Soul —> Intelligence—> Mind —> Senses
Thus, make your senses obedient to a resilient mind and your mind obedient to a developed/mature intelligence.
Modern Slavery
A Paradox of our time.
In the modern world, people believe in practicing freedom—freedom to consume anything, perform any activities, act, speak, wear, and live as they desire. It is ironic that in this age when ‘Freedom’ is treasured as a core value – people have become slaves to tobacco, nicotine, alcohol, illicit drugs, prescription drugs, porn, social media, gaming, etc. The world is exploding with such objects of sensual delight that have the power to enslave one’s mind and senses.
The list of harmful ‘Vishaya’ that tend to ensnare and consume one’s body, mind, emotions, relationships, time, and free will is endless. These objects of obsession also include money, fame, power, appreciation, fan-following, etc. People become dependent on these aspects of the physical world to feel fulfilled and satisfied, while their consciousness remains hollow and discontent.
Such distorted practice of freedom leads these substances to consume one’s body and mind in unspeakable ways- ultimately leading to a type of modern slavery. One eventually loses their free will and power to say ‘No’ to these cravings.
This so-called ‘Free’ consumption of deplorable substances or exposure to unwanted stimuli is harmful to those with untrained minds and intelligence. Such influence leads people to commit crimes and atrocious acts either under the influence of these objects or to procure the desired substance.
Regulative principles of freedom
Rules Free You
The laws of the material world are infallible and applicable to all embodied living entities despite one’s belief in them, e.g., the law of marriage (to avoid extravagant lusty desires and sensual stimulation), avoidance of gluttony/ intoxication/ gambling, the law of Karma (suffer or enjoy the consequences of our actions), repeated birth and death in different bodies; these rules are widely mentioned in the Vedic texts. These are in place to protect living entities from undue contamination of this world.
Being spiritual, we are used to freedom and, as such, detest any bondage. However, in our current situation- we are trapped within a body made of matter and unable to exercise complete freedom as the real self desires. As such, we are instructed by the scriptures and authorities to live within the rules/ regulations of this physical world and protect the physical body from undue harm. This enables the soul to utilize the full potential of the material body given to him and exercise more freedom than if he damaged the body with the polluting matter of the world.
Even though following the laws or rules may be considered restrictive by certain sections or age groups of society- the truth is that the body needs a certain amount of restraint and regulation to use it to its full capacity. The same rules that seem limiting initially provide immense freedom in the long run, thereby enabling the soul to accomplish bigger and better things in life.
We suffer our freedom more than our dependence on the Lord and other authorities.
Royal Pains
In ancient times, royals suffered from some unique afflictions like gout, dementia, melancholia, headaches, arthritis, obesity, etc. These problems, now widely prevalent in the average population, were previously seen only in royalty. This is due to our extravagant, comfortable lifestyle where no inconvenience or discomfort is entertained. We become addicted to seemingly ordinary things like bed, couch, TV, candy, sugar, soda, etc. Therefore, we must engage intelligently with the world as the matter tends to corrupt and captivate our senses. Overconsumption of the matter is polluting at best and addicting at worst for the living entity.
Mental Endurance
Build the mental muscles.
Mind is the weakest link in the hierarchy of control. Mental training is perhaps even more important than physical strength training. Much like the body, the mind also needs push and resistance to develop strength and endurance. We must treat both body and mind rigorously so they stay obedient to the living entity (the soul).
‘You are not this body, you are not even this mind- you are the soul.’
Learn to say ‘No’ to the mind- Every time we deny the unwanted urges of the mind or senses, we overcome an obstacle posed by the mind. Thus, we gradually build mental endurance by repeatedly saying ‘No’ to the undesirable demands posed by the body.
Gollum vs Frodo
Frodo Baggins, the understated hero of the Lord of the Rings- a hobbit – a tiny, homely creature with no special powers- except that he was full of love, integrity, good values, and courage – was chosen as the ring bearer. He was able to carry the dark ring of power because he resisted its influence despite being able to feel its pull, using it very seldom and carefully keeping it at a distance. Although not wholly immune to the ring’s influence, he was incorruptible. He stayed in the fellowship of those more powerful than him, sought association of faithful, loyal friends to protect him, and learned from the example of Gollum.
Therefore, we must guard ourselves against the various temptations of this world and learn from the example of others who have suffered the deteriorating effects of overconsumption. We need to build mental fortitude, handle the matter with care, and develop strength of character, positive association, positive values, and intelligence through spiritual wisdom to resist their undue power, thus avoiding—
‘The Gollum Effect’
A very insiteful blog. Please keep writing more blogs that give another take and lesson from everything.
Amazing! Will work on developing mental endurance and discriminatory intelligence with sadhna and sangha.