Theos-Talk Archives (September 2007 Message tt00098)

I am familiar with the concept of dharma. In old days of war, the level of
mass destruction was not on the same scale as we see today. Also, the Kings
who are warriors used to lead the troops in the battle exposing themselves
like every other soldier in the field. Today's King equivalents are
politicians who start and fight a war from the safety of their "palaces' and
when the soldiers are fighting and dying, they are feasting and celebrating.
So the concept of dharma as relating to today's war seems to need
modification. In a democracy, unless the masses start critically thinking of
the politicians war and act at the ballot, we will continue to see
unnecessary suffering of our fellow brothers/sisters, which is not
acceptable to anyone with a heart.

mkr

On 9/7/07, Scribe <scribe@rs.org> wrote:
>
> MKR,
>
> Are you asking about the spiritual angle to the present religious war the
> Wahabbis are waging against the West? But maybe I don't understand the
> question.
>
> What I mainly wanted to say was that your post evoked in me a rememberance
> of Annie Besant's Theosophical book on Dharma. I had for years heard of and
> read the word 'Dharma' and I got the idea of 'duty' 'work' etc. but it never
> started to sink in until I read her little book years ago. Then I reread it
> a couple of months ago and I got a much deeper understanding of the concept,
> only this time like it was for the first time I read where she was talking
> about the "warrior" class/caste where she said that was what they did, make
> wars and fight battles, and she told what it was they were learning,
> discipline, etc. I was more than a little shocked at reading this--I had
> actually thought war and killing was a bad thing and should be eliminated
> from our psyche--but she said it so matter-of-factly like it was a rite of
> passage we all had to go through.
>
> I know that Besant is on the "out list" here but I wanted to mention the
> idea of Dharma and war and see what everybody thought of it, because it
> seems to be going on right now, speaking of war.
>
> Scribe
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: M K Ramadoss
> To: theos-talk@yahoogroups.com <theos-talk%40yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Friday, September 07, 2007 11:37 PM
> Subject: Re: Theos-World Webcasting programs by TSA in America FREE, open
> to allt
>
> Thanks for the post even though the TS does not seem to be interested in
> "marketing" them!
>
> I visited the website and it was interesting to find the topic:
>
> "The Spiritual Dimensions of War and Its Healing" by Ed Tick
>
> War is ugly. Destruction everywhere. No winners. Man causing suffering to
> fellow men, women and children. Young men and women in their prime of life
> sacrificed for the good of the
> country. Reminds me of the days of old when there was human sacrifice
> to appease gods. To us today that looks very barbaric. However, most
> do not even wink an eye when young men and women come back in body
> bags.
>
> It would be very interesting to see what Spiritual Dimensions are there in
> War. May be when we are in the battle field and targeted by enemies,
> spiritual aspirations come to the forefront when the scared soldier starts
> praying to his or her favorite god.
>
> Years ago, during WWII, when Jiddu Krishnamurti was asked to assist in US
> war effort even in a civilian capacity, he did not want any part of it. So
> the Govt told him to stay in Ojai till they find a transportation to take
> him back to India. He was told not to give any talks and had to report to
> the local police every week. When I read about it years ago, I could not
> reconcile his stand with that of some leading theosophists who were
> discussing the white forces and dark forces and right side and wrong side
> of
> the war. In retrospect, when I saw on the TV the destruction of the
> country
> and its infra-structure and the
> suffering of men, women and children - also the 2 million refugees, I
> was able to understand.
>
> Would like to hear about any spiritual angle to the war!
>
> mkr
>
> On 9/7/07, MarieMAJ41 <MarieMAJ41@aol.com <MarieMAJ41%40aol.com>> wrote:
> >
> > Friends, below is taken from the website of the Theosophical Society in
> > America. This gives you free access to the simulcasting events that are
> > scheduled to begin soon.
> >
> > The link is
> > www.theosophical.org
> >
> > Schedule
> > All times are given in US Central Time. (CST)
> > To convert to your timezone, please visit the World Clock website,
> > then enter the date and time according to the schedule below, and choose
> > Chicago for the Place/City.
> >
> > The Olcott Institute's First Webcast Course: Echoes from the Gnosis
> > Wednesdays, 7:30 - 9:00 PM, September 12 - October 31
> >
> > Starting September 12th, this eight week class on G.R.S. Mead's classic
> > Echoes from the Gnosis will be webcast live from 7:30 to 9:00 PM each
> > Wednesday evening. Online handouts will be available prior to each
> class.
> > Students will be able to contact the instructors Rev. Robert Cokinis &
> Dr.
> > Anton Lysy with questions and comments during the class via e-mail. The
> > required text is Echoes from the Gnosis. CLICK HERE for class schedule.
> >
> > To register for Echoes from the Gnosis send your name, location (city,
> > state), and TS group affiliation (if any) via email to the REGISTRAR.
> >
> > Class prep for 9/12
> >
> > Other Webcast programs
> >
> > 9/13, 7 PM, "The Spiritual Dimensions of War and Its Healing" by Ed Tick
> > 9/20, 7 PM, "Religion, God, and Violence" by Jim Kenney
> > 9/27, 7 PM, "Phillip K. Dick: Modern Gnostic" by Stephan Hoeller
> > 9/29, 1-4 PM, "The Gnostic Worldview as shown in The Secret Book of
> John"
> > by Stephan Hoeller
> > 10/18, 7 PM, "The Gospel of Thomas" by Ron Miller
> > 11/1, 7 PM, "Olcott and Blavatsky: Theosophical Twins" by John Algeo
> >
> > For program details, please see "Programs at National Center."
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
>
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>
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>
> 
>


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