Theos-Talk Archives (January 2002 Message tt00372)

Hi theos-talk and all readers,

Not to interrupt anything, but
I thought the following could help a little.


WHO WINS THE TOYS ?

The world we are living in is one of strange and sad reversals. If you think about it, even the lower rungs of evolution, like ants and bees, act in amore enlightened fashion than this generation of human beings: They build;we seem bent on destroying. Men think nothing of threatening the entire ecosystem of a region as the Iraquis did in blowing up Kuwaiti oil wells in 1990 or fishermen around the world are doing at present in plundering the world's oceans. We hear rumours that, in the face of pollution, certain species are mutating in ways that place whole populations at risk within the space of a single generation. While most species prey only on others, man alone preys on others and himself. Nations, and even groups within nations, areexterminating each other in genocidal wars, a short while ago in Cambodia and Burma, and today in Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, Bosnia, Chechnya, USA (World Trade Center) and now Israel/Palestine. Unassisted, humanity seems headedtowards destroying everything it contacts and ultimately itself. 

Ignorant humanity sets the stage for this kind of selfish, greedy, rapacious behavior when it deludes itself into believing that only what can be seen, heard, touched, etc., is real. Following the logic of this materialist line of thought, it concludes that there is no God or Spirit. Instead of accessing an expansive, cosmic consciousness, seeing the unity and fellowship of all human beings and all life, individuals contract their consciousness until it is caged within the slight territory of the body, which alone is conceived of as being real. They know only separation and self-interest. As aresult, the human mind becomes engrossed in amassing wealth and the possessions it buys, consuming what delights the eye, the tongue, the nose, the skin, etc. They live to enjoy the comforts of life and the gadgetry of technology. Their highest aim is to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Their popular philosophy advises: "If it feels good, do it," "You only live once," and "He who dies with the most toys wins." According to the wise, this unprofitable way of living simply leads to fear, disappointment, and despair. One could say: "The net result of all this 'progress' is just this: mankind is living precariously on the brink of a holocaust; it is terror-stricken; man startles at the echo of his/her own steps."  

Because materialism denies spirituality, it cuts us off from the remedy to our misery. Without spiritual practice, or disciplin, we cannot find the peace and fulfillment that everyone will be found to seek. Since cannot bringus that inner peace; only spirituality can because man is more than just his/her body; he is also a spiritual being. One could warn you, that: "Unless you give up materialism, true spirituality cannot come to you."  

How can science, which is bound to a physical and materialistic outlook investigate transcendental phenomena beyond its scope, reach or comprehension?This is a fallacy.  
Truth is more fundamental than the atom, or academic thinking.
The materialist paradigm has no room for unseen subatomic (or pranic) forces, even though there is acknowledgment of the unseen air. Sage comes from time to time and out of compassion, they show by their extraordinary powers, that there is more to the world, than most Physicists and Academics of today even dream of.

Science must confine its inquiry only to things belonging to the human senses, while spiritualism transcends the senses. If you want to understand thenature of spiritual power you can do so only through the path of spirituality and not science. ... Science is a mere glow worm in the light and splendour of the sun. ... Spiritualism ... reigns over the cosmic field where science has no place.   

Science has staked its claims on its ability to solve problems. However, today the paradigm of science is itself becoming a problem. It has uncritically served government and the military in producing dreadful weapons. It hascreated a technological and economic machine that is polluting the globe, causing the ozone layer to thin, and stripping the Earth everywhere of needed resources. The gadgetry it has spawned has displaced millions of human workers and turned their lives into a nightmare. Materialism is the acceptedglobal perspective and yet it does not look at life deeply enough to supply the wisdom we need to solve our social and ecological problems. It has failed to create a better life for people or to guide us towards values that will result in contentment. Consequently, we wander in despair, growing less satisfied and more alienated every day. And the saddest thing is that therest of the world looks to North America to set the pattern for them and gladly applies these bankrupt Western practices. 

Our minds are used to thinking of alternative pairs or polar opposites. Hence, we visualize "materialism" and "spirituality" as two alternatives, likethis: "o + o". However, the proper relationship between the two would see a smaller "o" contained within a larger "O". The smaller "o" is materialism, which is contained within the larger "O" of spirituality. Though materialism cannot contain spirituality, spirituality can, and does, contain materialism. Materialism is simply one of the infinite responses to life that arises within the unlimited context of spirituality. 

No public figure today has the power to stem the tide of evil -- not President Bush, Pope John Paul, the Dalai Lama, or any other contemporary world leader. One by one, our politicians and statesmen have revealed their impotence or unsuitability to provide global leadership -- all except one: The Avatar, the Christ, the Imam Mahdi, the Maitreya etc.

One can repeatedly point out that empirical materialism is a contracted andinadequate point of view. One can say that it has led us into difficulty. When embraced as the whole truth, it blinds us to spiritual realities. Yet it is the dominant philosophy of most western (and some eastern) schools, universities, governments, medicine, and even (if you look very close and hard) many organized religions. 

When materialism falls, the door will open for worldwide cooperation to remove the suffering attributable to our uncaring attitude towards the poor, starving, aged, sick and oppressed. Compassionate endeavors, once shunned because they are unprofitable, will thrive, like feeding the world's hungry, fighting global epidemics, protecting animal species from slaughter, and rescuing the environment from pollution. 

As a contracted philosophy, materialism has no future. Just as we contract when we withdraw from people and go into our shells, so when humanity withdraws from infinite spirit and confines itself to the tiny territory of the body, it contracts as well. Just as to know another, we must expand our vision, so to know God we must expand our consciousness until it takes in the whole. When we are seen to be of one spirit, I think there will be a tremendous release of joy and peacefulness. Those times will be marvellous to behold.  

Egoism is the belief that this small constriction in consciousness that I call an "I", this temporary knot in the undifferentiated and universal awareness, is real. This fundamental error, which later blossoms into selfishness, skews all the rest. It reduces righteousness to self-righteousness, loveto self-love, nobility to self-importance, and wisdom to conceit. The morereal that local knot in consciousness seems, the less real God seems. Ego is a falsehood superimposed upon the Real. So we must remove the ego, to bewise. 

Be good. Do good. See good. Do-be-do-be-do see ?
Neti, Neti. Not this, Not that. Only ParaBrahman.

peace to you all
M. Sufilight