The mystery of the mind

Humans are able to fathom the depth of the ocean or measure the height of the world's highest mountain, but they cannot -- in some particular cases -- control their own minds. All the crimes in this world are concocted in human minds, the think tank of human behavior.

Let us chat about World War II. Thousands -- nay millions of people died. For what? In 1939 Germany occupied Poland, which triggered World War II, and in 1941 the Pacific War started. Is it not ironical, not to say absurd, that all the misery was caused by the greed for hegemony of a dapper short man with a Charlie Chaplin moustache and a tuft of hair covering half his forehead. Is it not extraordinarily uncommon that a single man could order a whole nation to do as he pleased? He conquered with his army almost all the countries in Europe. Conversely, we could say that millions of lives could have been spared if he had not existed or he had controlled his mind.

The other day CNN showed a group of mountaineers trying to reach the highest peak in the world, the Himalaya. On their way to the top, they met with blizzards, avalanches, a lack of oxygen and other mishaps, which caused the tragic death of five of the group members. One of them died a tragic death from sheer exhaustion. When the survivors of the expedition surrounded the freshly dug graves of their five deceased friends, with tears streaming down their cheeks they muttered their prayers.

I could not help asking myself what were they wanting to prove by reaching the highest peak in the world? Is it worth sacrificing lives in such an attempt? This is one example of the mystery of the mind. What about the wives and school-going children they left behind? That well-educated people are bereft of rational thinking boggles my mind!

A. DJUANA

Jakarta