Theos-Talk Archives (November 2001 Message tt00048)

In regards to Freedom in the United States pleas ehave a look at the
following website. Don't be put off by the name it's an acronym.

www.fear.org


Cheers

Nos



|-----Original Message-----
|From: Eldon B Tucker [mailto:eldon@theosophy.com] 
|Sent: Saturday, 3 November 2001 7:30 AM
|To: theos-talk@yahoogroups.com
|Subject: RE: Theos-World relative freedoms and mutual love
|
|
|At 04:53 AM 11/3/01 +1030, you wrote:
|
|>I think though that if we talk about quality of life - in the 
|sense you 
|>have above - then are we not talking about a relative level 
|of material 
|>comfort?
|
|I don't mind having a home to live in, a television,
|car, washer & dryer, home computer, etc. Life would
|be less comfortable without them. But I would make
|a distinction between having and using material
|things and being owned by them. If they dominate your
|life, if there's a constant craving for more, if
|having them makes you feel better than others --
|that's materialism.
|
|It's ok to have and use a car. It's materialism to
|think of oneself as better than people without cars,
|and to dream and long for bigger, better, more expensive 
|vehicles to drive. Having a car is fine if it's in a 
|supporting role in one's life. It's not good if there is 
|anything compulsive with it.
|
|> A subtle point I've been slowly trying to make over the 
|years is that 
|>those brought up in this materialism - even though the encounter 
|>theosophy and the doctrines of anti-materialism - really don't do 
|>anything about it.
|
|In western countries, our lifestyles are based upon
|having and using certain things. We depend upon homes,
|cars, telephones, televisions, computers and the
|Internet, books and publishing houses, grocery stores
|and the mass marketing of food, large-scale agribusiness 
|producing low-cost food, etc.
|
|All this dependency on the goods and services of
|others allows us to live a higher style of life
|than otherwise. It's not just higher in creature
|comforts, but also higher in opportunities to
|learn, travel, and experience things.
|
|>Look I'm just as Hypocritical. I didn't come to
|>theosophy until after I married and had my first child so for me the 
|>responsibility of raising a family outweighed what I knew was the 
|>ultiimately right thing to do if one is honest in persuing the 
|>spiritual path - that is sell all worldy possesions and become a 
|>roving ascetic - meditating and helping others as I can. So I 
|sponsor a 
|>child in africa -
|
|Most of us are in a similar situation, where family
|and friends depend upon us and we're not free to
|go our own way. But I think we can progress as
|rapidly where we are as we could if we were hiking
|the mountains of Tibet, in search of the perfect Guru.
|
|>I never try to make money from other people (ie a profit over 
|costs) - 
|>I give away my artistic works at no charge - and I try to 
|give a voice 
|>to those who are otherwise silent. The masses who don't have internet 
|>access and cannot influence opinion.
|
|The Internet is becoming more democratic. It's available
|for a time in many schools and libraries, and there's an
|effort to make it more and more open to everyone.
|
|We all make a gift of our time and creative energies for
|the benefit of others. If you're doing art, have you 
|photographed any of it and put in on the Internet for viewing 
|by others?
|
|>My point I suppose is this : You can take the theosophist out of 
|>America , but you can't take America out of the theosophist.
|
|And the same is true of the Britain, the Frenchman, the 
|Australian, the Tibetan, etc. We all are rooted in the culture 
|we find ourselves. It's always a challenge to think beyond 
|what's commonly accepted. We face it everyday as we study Theosophy.
|
|>Virtually all yank
|>theosophists have had the same response to the WTC911 - when the 
|>correct response would be like Richard Gere's or the Dalai Llamas - 
|>these are the voices of compassion. All I hear is 'revenge' and 
|>so-called 'justice'. Is that really theosophy? Go on justify your 
|>'correct insight'.....
|
|I've already said what I think. The problem is not
|justice or revenge, but the safety of the western
|world from religious fanatics that want to use
|weapons of mass destruction to kill large civilian
|populations. Those specific individuals need to be
|stopped before they become more successful in their
|goals.
|
|Apart from that, peaceful coexistence with peoples
|of all races, faiths, and cultures is a noble
|objective we can all work towards. Peace and
|compassion is the general rule.
|
|-- Eldon
|
|
|
| 
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