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| Guruji Amritananda Natha with disciples |
Vira Chandra: Recent studies in neuroscience continue to affirm something that mystics have intuited for centuries: we are deeply wired for connection, and our capacity to communicate, cooperate, and empathize is intimately tied to how our brain functions — and evolves.
A collaborative study by researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of Oslo used advanced MRI scans to explore how sociability relates to brain structure. You can read the full study here. They found that individuals who are more inclined to connect and cooperate with others tend to have more developed neural density in specific brain areas: the orbitofrontal cortex, which is linked to self-regulation and emotional decision-making, and the striatum, which is involved in planning and reward-based behavior.
What makes this finding especially interesting is that it's not simply the structure of the brain that makes someone friendly — it appears that the act of engaging with others in a heartfelt way reinforces and develops these very regions. In other words, communication and cooperation are not just outcomes of a healthy brain, but also the means to cultivating one.
As Dr. Graham Murray, one of the lead scientists, observed: “These regions of the brain provide reward for social interaction in the same way they respond to food, drink, or other pleasurable experiences. This suggests that friendliness is, in part, fueled by emotional benefit — that is, it feels good to connect.”
And isn’t that what many spiritual traditions have taught all along? That beneath all striving, we long not to dominate the world, but to reunite with it — to return to the innate wholeness we once knew.
From a spiritual perspective, the symptoms of deep loneliness and withdrawal often arise from a kind of inner contraction — a psychic "no" to what appears as "not-me." The Sanskrit term dveṣa (aversion) expresses this: a quiet rejection of the world, which, when unchecked, can spiral into self-rejection and fragmentation. The soul, then, is not simply craving more stimulation or entertainment — it is longing for reintegration.
This is why, even when human communication feels impossible, animal therapy can have such profound effects. Horses, dogs, cats, and dolphins don’t require language — they communicate presence, acceptance, and affection without judgment. And something inside us recognizes that frequency.
What the mystic knows — and science is beginning to confirm — is that healing happens through reconnection. Not by absorbing more and more of the world into the ego’s grip, but by dissolving the boundaries that keep us feeling separate in the first place. True joy arises not from consumption, but from expansion — from including more and more of what once felt like "not-I" into the circle of the heart.
So yes, nurture your friendships. Speak kindly. Cooperate. Let yourself feel joy in connection, and don’t underestimate the sacredness of affection. Every act of genuine communication, however small, reshapes the architecture of your brain — and realigns you with the deeper truth: that there is no real separation. The world is not outside you. It is waiting to be welcomed back in.
But this truth doesn’t just shape our inner life. It also has profound implications for the way we build societies, lead organizations, and even practice religion. The deeper spiritual current of connection and cooperation, if ignored, gives way to division, competition, and alienation on a mass scale. What begins as a subtle "no" inside the heart becomes, over time, war between nations.
Few have articulated this link between inner disconnection and outer conflict more vividly than Guruji Amritananda Saraswati. In his characteristically direct, soul-anchored voice, he offers a powerful meditation on how the choice between cooperation and competition shapes not only our lives, but the very fate of civilization:
Cooperation or competition? Which is better? Most of the modern society pundits say competition promotes improvements in products and upgrades technology, so vital to progress. But let us remember that we are paying a great price for this. Why? Because competition makes your competitors your natural enemies. It is us versus them. They are not us. The NIH (Not Invented Here) complex develops. So, instead of letting the best ideas prevail, and instead of letting consensus prevail, vested interests grow, which always promote their "own” ideas and put down the others. Alienation is the result; strife is the result. Nations have gone to wars on this issue.
My religion is better than yours. You should give up your religion, your faith, and adopt mine. Because it is better! We give you food if you follow our religion. In the olden days, the song was different. "We will kill you if you don't follow our religion, the only true religion in the world." (Ford used to say, "You can have all the choice colors in the world, as long as it is my brand of black color.") "Peace and prosperity if you follow me; death and destruction, eternal damnation if you don't follow me." So. competition entered religion, causing alienation among nations.
Alienation creates boundaries and Berlin walls. On a smaller scale, the walls of our homes alienate us from the rest of the wilderness. Religion came to be blamed for creating wars. "Religion is bad; throw it away. It is an escape from the world; throw it away." "Morals are bad; throw them away. Compete; outshine; become a superman. Gain power; and wield it for your personal gain." This is the path of competition. This is where it leads. If we look carefully, wherever there has been real growth, it has come about as a team effort. Two heads are better than one. Ten sticks together are stronger than one stick, which can be easily broken.
Cooperation has been the real key. You can have better ideas than me. That does not make me stupid. That only means I am made differently. That may be because I am meant to implement ideas rather than to generate them. I may be better in doing that. How many of the ideas that are coming up can be called entirely your own? You see farther than Newton did because you are aware of what he has done -- you are literally standing on his shoulders. The whole point is that the best ideas come out and the best ideas get propagated with cooperation and encouragement rather than with destructive criticism.
If you grew up all alone in wilderness, had no language and had no education, do you think you could have made earth-shaking discoveries? No chance. You won't even be able to think because you don't have a language to think in. You will only be able to feel; that is the language you were born with. Much of what we are able to contribute comes from the environment. Ignore the environment, alienate the environment and you lose. Cooperation. Resonance with nature and environment. Harmony. Peace. These are the human values approaching divinity. Competition. Struggle for success. Fear of failure. Loss of face. Frustration. Anger. Violence. Neuroses. These are subhuman values. They disrupt peace, stability, harmony and the environment.
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