This is a mental illness afflicting most modern people. More precisely, it is a mental illness afflicting most ancient Easterners and modern people of both East and West. The ancient Greeks were somewhat better off, as they considered humans to be “toys of the gods.”
They believed that humans were beings who, when struck by Cupid’s arrow, would suddenly feel intense lust; when possessed by Dionysus, the god of wine, would become hopelessly addicted to alcohol; and when seized by Ares, the god of war, would fight and kill madly. To Greek citizens and philosophers, humans were beings who lived according to their own will, but whose fate was “held in the hands of the gods,” as the gods could at any moment make them lose control and bring about their ruin.
However, ancient Eastern philosophies, Buddhism, and Hinduism believed that through personal cultivation, one could fully control one’s own mind. (If that were possible, Siddhartha Gautama would not have needed to abandon his wife and children and practice asceticism until his death.) And most modern people in both East and West believe the same. They sign up for gym memberships and fail to go even for a month; they vow to diet but end up eating more; they decide to read a book but fail to finish it even after a year; they engage in sex they know they shouldn’t; they can’t quit watching pornography despite knowing it’s bad; they can’t cut down on alcohol; they can’t control their anger and end up shouting and cursing; and then, not knowing why they are like this, they constantly lie to hide their uncontrollable selves. They lie that they can fix it, even though they absolutely cannot and keep repeating the same mistakes. If they cannot control their thoughts and actions, what fate can possibly be their own? This is nothing short of a delusion.
Paradoxically, one can only become the master of one’s fate by acknowledging that one is not currently the master of it. If one feels as if one is one’s own master while failing to execute thoughts and actions as one vows and intends, one will be trapped in delusion and end up living a life as a toy of the gods. Some might retort, “I still control myself more than 90% of the time.” If so, I suggest they try driving on a highway with a car whose steering wheel and brakes only work nine out of ten times.
Once one acknowledges the reality that one is not currently the master of one’s fate, the next step is to stop lying. Stopping lying makes it impossible to pretend to be a “good person.” One can no longer claim to have read a book without finishing it, or say one didn’t do something dirty when one did. Exaggeration and understatement also count as lies. Once one can no longer hide one’s flaws with lies, the only remaining option is to be careful with one’s actions. Once one stops lying, one finally understands why the polished self-presentations of acquaintances and social media friends are false. Hiding the things that would cause trouble if revealed and only presenting a nicely packaged version of oneself is nothing but deception and fraud.
It is much more difficult and important to refrain from doing things one cannot be proud of when revealed than to have graduated from Harvard and be doing seemingly impressive work. One does not need to accomplish great things to become the master of one’s fate and live a meaningful life. It is enough to not do dirty deeds and not lie, according to one’s conscience. The life of a person who lives like that becomes a light that illuminates those around them. But that is the most difficult thing.
Becoming the master of one’s fate is like a war. Therefore, the Bible, another pillar that formed human civilization along with Greek Hellenism, defines “bringing every thought captive to obey Christ” as “spiritual warfare.” Those who can wage such “spiritual warfare” are called the saved or the sons of God. Being saved means receiving the “Holy Spirit” of Jesus Christ, which is said to be the only way to protect one’s thoughts from the arrows shot by Cupid, Ares, and Dionysus.
In the end, the Bible sees that humans cannot control themselves or become masters of their fate without the “Holy Spirit (salvation).” This is strangely consistent with the ancient Greek worldview that “humans are toys of the gods.” Combining the two, it is the “gods” who cause one to lose one’s fate, and it is “salvation (the Holy Spirit)” that allows one to regain it. The only thing humans can do is choose one of the two. Humans are beings, religious animals, who try to do it on their own, only to discover themselves as toys of the gods and then feel the need for salvation.
Nevertheless, those who belong to Eastern cultures, believe in materialism, worship science to the level of religion believing it will bring eternal life, or are simply focused on material things and pleasure while believing in none of these things, live in the delusion that they are masters of themselves. They dance to the arrows of Cupid, Dionysus, and Ares, repeating the same mistakes while believing that they can one day solve their problems with a few books bought at Kyobo Bookstore and a few mind-training videos on YouTube. It would be fortunate if they at least knew what their problems were and had the intention to improve. Mostly, these delusional people read books and watch programs to soothe their own feelings. All the actions of a person living a life that ignores the essence—eating, sleeping, working, playing—are nothing more than a million acts of self-gratification to avoid the pain of facing the essence. I hope that as many people as possible escape this delusion and face the essence.
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