Theos-Talk Archives (January 2002 Message tt00396)

Dear Sufilight,

Thanks for this article. I certainly points to many areas where 
theosophists could direct their attention, if we wish to be of 
assistance to this poor suffering humanity of which we are all a 
part. Of course, since we are alll fragments of this collective 
materialistic society, we each have power to make changes. To the 
degree that we can find the light of spirituality in our own lives, and 
live according to the higher laws its teachings reveal, we become 
part of the way out of the hell of materialism and doubt for all. The 
symbol of the smaller o as materialism and the larger O surrounding 
it as spirituality seems apt. Thinking about the role of science, I am 
reminded of the fontispiece of the Secret Doctrine, which says that 
Theosophy is a synthesis of Science, Philosophy, and Religion. We 
could see a similar symbol, with the larger O, Theosophy, 
encompassing the other three within its boundaries. Surely a 
science informed by theosophical principles would be able to make 
great strides in all areas where we can see something needs to be 
done. I feel confident that such blending of effort is in the future. 
There is much research going on in far places in the world where 
science is no longer so tightly restricted to material research. 
After all, our present technology is the replay of former ages, and 
we have another chance to devote our efforts to the welfare of all, 
rather than the aggrandizement of a few. Each of us can contribute 
substantially to this progress, if we only will.

Adelasie

On 25 Jan 02, at 21:57, Morten Sufilight wrote:

> 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 a more 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, are
> exterminating 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 headed towards destroying everyth 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 a result, 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 to 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 bring us
> 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 the nature 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 has created 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 accepted global 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 the rest of the world looks to North America to set the
> pattern for them and gladly applies these bankrup Our minds are used
> to thinking of alternative pairs or polar opposites. Hence, we
> visualize "materialism" and "spirituality" as two alternatives, like
> this: "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 and inadequate 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, love to self-love, nobility to
> self-importance, and wisdom to conceit. The more real 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 be wise. 
> 
> 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
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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