Pre-Conditioning

A small boy drives a hundred ducks to the lake with a wooden stick. The crowds of excited white ducks follow his directions without resisting - and keep moving towards the lake.
The boy raises the ducks from the beginning and conditions them.
In the end, he sells them, and they end up being someone's meal.
How can a small boy command an entire flock of ducks with a slender stick?
They obey the stick because they respond to the conditioning.
In truth, they don't need to obey it - they don't need to become someone's meal.
The boy does not own the ducks in a real sense. He exercises his power over them, and they respond. The ducks do not realize that the boy does not have any actual control over them. They would not obey the boy if they were not pre-conditioned.
The boy may think that he owns the ducks, but he does not realize that they obey his directions simply because of their pre-conditioning. He would not be able to catch every single of them if all hundred ducks start running away in different directions - and escape.

Similarly, our minds also get conditioned.
Since childhood, we develop some belief systems that are taught by the parents, elders, teachers, leaders, and those whom we consider heroes and mentors and get conditioned by their views and ideas. By listening and repeating certain doctrines over and over, our minds get so conditioned that we eventually lose the ability to think logically.
Then we - thousands or even millions of people can be controlled simply by a word, a phrase, or some signal - just like those hundreds of ducks can be controlled by a small boy with a slender stick - all because of pre-conditioning.

The path of liberation is to get rid of all kinds of pre-conditionings and follow the way of Gyana.
However, most people find it easier to follow the directions of others rather than think for themselves.
Just like Sant Kabeer ji said: 

              Jenh marg Pandit gaye, paachhay gayi vaheer
             Aughat ghaati Ram ki tenh chadh raheyo Kabeer
Sadguru Kabeer ji says the masses follow the wise ones without thinking, like the herd of sheep - it's only a few who walk wisely on this path of the ultimate goal - which is like a mountain that is very difficult to climb.
                                                                ' Rajan Sachdeva '