Theos-Talk Archives (August 2001 Message tt00262)

At 01:48 AM 8/25/01 -0700, you wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Scott Reeves" <ScottR@Spiritus.Org>
> Subject: 42 - MORE WORDS
>
> Russia and Finland are only words, concepts, but not for
> human beings, not for crazy human beings. We're almost
> never looking at reality. A guru was once attempting to
> explain to a crowd how human beings react to words, feed on
> words, live on words, rather than on reality. One of the
> men stood up and protested; he said, "I don't agree that
> words have all that much effect on us." The guru said,
> "Sit down, you son of a bitch!" The man went livid with
> rage and said, "You call yourself an enlightened person, a
> guru, a master, but you ought to be ashamed of yourself!"
> The guru then said, "Pardon me, sir, I was carried away. I
> really beg your pardon; that was a lapse; I'm sorry." The
> man finally calmed down. Then the guru said, "It took just
> a few words to get a whole tempest going within you; and it
> took just a few words to calm you down, didn't it?" Words,
> words, words, words, how imprisoning they are if they're
> not used properly.
>
> Anthony de Mello, SJ
> -----
>
> This last story was also used by Frank Herbert in one of
> his Dune-books.
>
> Katinka
Katinka:

I've recently read the Dune series of books, and find
that there's a lot of psychology, philosophy, political
theory, Eastern Religion, metaphysics, and other deep
things to ponder. Much has been hidden behind the veil
of a science fiction setting. In the guise of story-
telling, the books lead the reader to consider some
important points. I'd recommend reading the books. Even
though they come under entertainment, they've got
something extra to offer, and are a much better use of
relaxation time than things like watching television.

It's just too bad we don't better explore this means
of promoting some of the better ideas found in
Theosophy to the general public. Storytelling is an
ancient art, and could be put to good use. Not everything
that we write has to be a compilation of quotes or a
philosophical dissertation.

-- Eldon