Theos-Talk Archives (August 2006 Message tt00139)

Hi Pedro,

If I may jump in...perhaps we could see fundamentalism, of whatever 
religion, as an attempt to get back to the basics. Spiritual teaching 
has a rough time surviving intact in a materialistic culture, such as 
pervades human civilization during this Kali Yuga. Inside every human 
being is that spark of divinity, that inner consciousness of truth 
and wisdom. We even have a name for it, our "conscience." We can all 
too easily see that simple human values, such as life, liberty and 
equality, are very effectively perverted and ignored by the current 
trend of materialism, and the inner knower rebels. But we are lacking 
the total teaching, and the average man or woman hasn't got enough 
information to form adequate understanding. So we are prey to those 
who tell us (perhaps to serve their own agenda) that the answer lies 
in the fundamental approach of this or that religion. This is, imho, 
the intrinsic value of theosophy. It is still quite pure. We have 
access to the original teaching. We have that needed information, 
helping us to understand what is true, how things work, why things 
happen that other wise seem random cruelty.  We have the information 
that allows us to think for ourselves, make up our own minds, pursue 
the course that can really make a difference. 

Adelasie

On 3 Aug 2006 at 0:40, pedro oliveira wrote:

> Bill, greetings from Dreamtime.
> 
> As I see the world engulfed once more in the nightmare of war and its 
> ensuing atrocities and unceasing suffering, I feel theos-talk can 
> contribute to a saner perspective about it all by, for example, 
> inquiring into the following questions:
> 
> What is fundamentalism? Where is its source? What nourishes it? How 
> does it maintain its grip on the human mind and heart? Can it ever end?
> 
> I am not referring here specifically to 'theosophical' fundamentalism 
> only, but fundametalism in itself. In a very enlightening interview 
> in 'Parabola' (Winter 2005), Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr, one of the 
> most distinguished Islamic scholars in the world today, suggests that 
> the phenomeon of fundamentalism is basically a reaction to modernism 
> as an ideology. In other words, the modern mind with its emphasis on 
> intellect and reason, has tended to treat religion as a 'has been', as 
> a mere romantic-emotional exercise. Therefore, those belonging to 
> traditional religious environments reacted, sometimes violently, to 
> this perceived 'attack' of modernism on their religious traditions. 
> Professor Nasr also points out that the fundamentalistic response to  
> modernism did not come from the mystical dimension of those 
> traditions, but from the more theologically regimented of its members.
> 
> May we have your views on the above?
> 
> Warm regards,
> 
> Pedro