East/West, human values & cosmic illusion

Dear Mary, Juliana, and all: I want to add my voice to the discussion based on

my own

philosophy of the cosmic illusion of maya, learned through the years from

Eastern

enlightened masters. Although the Earth drama is only "apparent reality,"

according to

Vedanta, we must not forget that the only way to negate the illusion is through

purification, of oneself, through spiritual practice, meditation, japa, and

doing good to

others through prayer and selfless service while observing tragic events in the

spirit of

detachment.

 

Unfortunately there are many who may grasp the knowledge of illusion only

intellectually, and are incapable of actually enacting human values of

brotherhood and

sisterhood in the face of tragedy such as war and natural disaster. It is easier

to be

ÒdetachedÓ when itÕs not oneself or a relative who has no food, water, or

shelter, but if

humanity fails to offer the cup of water (from the wellspring of compassion) to

those

who are suffering on a human level, then we have genuinely lost the point of

this

embodiment and the teachings of how to purify ourselves to attain liberation not

only for

ourselves, but in the spirit of the bodhisatva, until all attain enlightenment.

If it is not

possible to send material support to those in need, we have a moral obligation

to send

thoughts of goodwill to those suffering, which will help to purify our own minds

and

hearts and clear the dirt and debris of the collective mind and body, both

literally and

figuratively. Remember Krishna told Arjuna that he must "act" to fight the

Mahabarata

War to annihilate the forces of evil; he could not, like Hamlet, philosophize on

whether

"to be or not to be."

 

The New Orleans disaster may be no doubt part of the purification that must

occur to

diminish the large numbers of the ignorant in the collective who are living

outside of

natural and spiritual law, but they are also human and their suffering should be

considered as if it were our own because in the sense that we are all one, the

only

separation between those corpses in the Gulf of Mexico and ourselves is our own

higher

consciousness and our ability to act from that higher place of evolved awareness

for the

good of all. If we fail to recognize and act from this truth, we too are the

floating

corpses, with only breath separating us from them.

 

This time of purification has been predicted by many indigenous peoples, ending

according to the prophecies in 2012, and the tsunami and the hurricane may only

be the

beginning of greater disaster with Mars approaching a volatile point in October

through

retrograde and Rahu and Saturn adding their considerable influence to the

potential for

further loss of human life. For me the practice is trying to maintain my inner

state of

peace and detachment even in the midst of disasters such as hurricanes, but can

we not

all use the knowledge of jyotish to bring more light, not darkness, into the

collective

through the combined learning of people contributing on this list to illumine

the

planetary patterns at play and through our efforts become a force for good in

the world?

 

Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya

 

Janna

 

http://seven_directions.tripod.com/

 

 

 

valist, Mary Quinn <mary1quinn> wrote:

> Dear Ashutosh, Naresh Desai, and, er, Sz...

>

> I remember reading in the paper of the floods in India

> and I don't remember any talk about looting. Frankly,

> I think that's commendable and speaks very well of the

> Indian people under stress. Sadly, though, the US

> press (granted, not a reliable source) is constantly

> reporting incidents of daily life in India (usually

> having to do with the treatment of women in poor

> areas) that seem rather lacking in basic human values.

> I think that we ALL have a long way to go in improving

> human values. We just may do it in different ways and

> under different circumstances.

>

> As cultures we are so different, all over the world

> (and right here on this list!), when it comes to how

> we think and how we value and how we live day to day.

> But as people, I think we are exactly the same. We

> each judge each other in the same way.

>

> At the beginning of the "War against Iraq", Baghdad

> was without water, electricity, etc. The US Press

> emphasized the looting going on, and many people here

> saw that as a sign of the state of the entire Iraqi

> culture. Well, time to take our own lumps. We can't

> say 'they are bad' when they do it and 'it should be

> overlooked' when we do. The Other Guy's Glass is

> always half empty, and Ours is always half full. The

> only thing that changes is who classifies themselves

> as "Ours" - and that doesn't change because Everyone

> classifies themselves as the good guys.

>

> No, Naresh, a majority of the world would Not love to

> live here. The majority prefers their own homeland.

> The people who leave their land and come to the US

> only do so out of the desire to acquire some money

> (because they have little of it). Every single

> immigrant whom I've asked, has stated that they'd go

> back home in an instant if they could afford it(there

> are, of course, exceptions). They don't like our

> lifestyle or our way of thinking - not because it is

> bad per se, but because they know and value something

> different. And they all think their way is the best.

> They may say that the US is great, but I'll bet that's

> mostly because we beat up on anyone who says

> different. Ah, free speech.

>

> Every culture has something they verbalize as their

> best feature (close family ties, freedom, etc) and

> unbeknownst to them, they DO the opposite. We are

> actually one of the less free countries in the world.

> Yes, we are more free than people were during the

> reign of the Camer Rouge (sp?) which is always a

> favorite of ours to compare with as is Nazi Germany -

> but ANYWHERE in the world is more free than that.

>

> We will never change our faults if we overlook them

> and label others who point these faults out as being

> envious. It's always easy to count how many times we

> have to put up with the faults of others while

> thinking they never have to put up with our own,

> seeing as we don't have any.

>

> As a list, we are a microcosm of the world and look

> how often we dissolve into mud-slinging and

> hair-pulling. [My hands being just as full of mud and

> hair as anyone else's.]

>

> Maybe we can give each other a break, and as Juliana

> said (paraphrasing), send each other some love, cause

> boy do we need it.

>

> Love to all,

> The Pot who calls the Kettle black

>

>

>

>

>

Dear Janna,

 

In 1995, I met a faqir who was wandering about the city

of Ahmedabad. He looked at me and said, "before your hair turn white, the

world population will be reduced by one-third."

 

Then, there was no way that I could have believed him. Now, there

are no reasons not to believe.

 

Strange happenings, but life is full of surprises.

 

Ashutosh

 

 

 

 

 

-

"Janna Lynn" <jnanalynn

<valist>

Tuesday, 06 September, 2005 06:36

Re: East/West, human values & cosmic illusion

 

 

Dear Mary, Juliana, and all: I want to add my voice to the discussion based

on my own

philosophy of the cosmic illusion of maya, learned through the years from

Eastern

enlightened masters. Although the Earth drama is only "apparent reality,"

according to

Vedanta, we must not forget that the only way to negate the illusion is

through

purification, of oneself, through spiritual practice, meditation, japa, and

doing good to

others through prayer and selfless service while observing tragic events in

the spirit of

detachment.

 

Unfortunately there are many who may grasp the knowledge of illusion only

intellectually, and are incapable of actually enacting human values of

brotherhood and

sisterhood in the face of tragedy such as war and natural disaster. It is

easier to be

ÒdetachedÓ when itÕs not oneself or a relative who has no food, water, or

shelter, but if

humanity fails to offer the cup of water (from the wellspring of compassion)

to those

who are suffering on a human level, then we have genuinely lost the point of

this

embodiment and the teachings of how to purify ourselves to attain liberation

not only for

ourselves, but in the spirit of the bodhisatva, until all attain

enlightenment. If it is not

possible to send material support to those in need, we have a moral

obligation to send

thoughts of goodwill to those suffering, which will help to purify our own

minds and

hearts and clear the dirt and debris of the collective mind and body, both

literally and

figuratively. Remember Krishna told Arjuna that he must "act" to fight the

Mahabarata

War to annihilate the forces of evil; he could not, like Hamlet,

philosophize on whether

"to be or not to be."

 

The New Orleans disaster may be no doubt part of the purification that must

occur to

diminish the large numbers of the ignorant in the collective who are living

outside of

natural and spiritual law, but they are also human and their suffering

should be

considered as if it were our own because in the sense that we are all one,

the only

separation between those corpses in the Gulf of Mexico and ourselves is our

own higher

consciousness and our ability to act from that higher place of evolved

awareness for the

good of all. If we fail to recognize and act from this truth, we too are the

floating

corpses, with only breath separating us from them.

 

This time of purification has been predicted by many indigenous peoples,

ending

according to the prophecies in 2012, and the tsunami and the hurricane may

only be the

beginning of greater disaster with Mars approaching a volatile point in

October through

retrograde and Rahu and Saturn adding their considerable influence to the

potential for

further loss of human life. For me the practice is trying to maintain my

inner state of

peace and detachment even in the midst of disasters such as hurricanes, but

can we not

all use the knowledge of jyotish to bring more light, not darkness, into the

collective

through the combined learning of people contributing on this list to

illumine the

planetary patterns at play and through our efforts become a force for good

in the world?

 

Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya

 

Janna

 

http://seven_directions.tripod.com/

 

 

 

valist, Mary Quinn <mary1quinn> wrote:

> Dear Ashutosh, Naresh Desai, and, er, Sz...

>

> I remember reading in the paper of the floods in India

> and I don't remember any talk about looting. Frankly,

> I think that's commendable and speaks very well of the

> Indian people under stress. Sadly, though, the US

> press (granted, not a reliable source) is constantly

> reporting incidents of daily life in India (usually

> having to do with the treatment of women in poor

> areas) that seem rather lacking in basic human values.

> I think that we ALL have a long way to go in improving

> human values. We just may do it in different ways and

> under different circumstances.

>

> As cultures we are so different, all over the world

> (and right here on this list!), when it comes to how

> we think and how we value and how we live day to day.

> But as people, I think we are exactly the same. We

> each judge each other in the same way.

>

> At the beginning of the "War against Iraq", Baghdad

> was without water, electricity, etc. The US Press

> emphasized the looting going on, and many people here

> saw that as a sign of the state of the entire Iraqi

> culture. Well, time to take our own lumps. We can't

> say 'they are bad' when they do it and 'it should be

> overlooked' when we do. The Other Guy's Glass is

> always half empty, and Ours is always half full. The

> only thing that changes is who classifies themselves

> as "Ours" - and that doesn't change because Everyone

> classifies themselves as the good guys.

>

> No, Naresh, a majority of the world would Not love to

> live here. The majority prefers their own homeland.

> The people who leave their land and come to the US

> only do so out of the desire to acquire some money

> (because they have little of it). Every single

> immigrant whom I've asked, has stated that they'd go

> back home in an instant if they could afford it(there

> are, of course, exceptions). They don't like our

> lifestyle or our way of thinking - not because it is

> bad per se, but because they know and value something

> different. And they all think their way is the best.

> They may say that the US is great, but I'll bet that's

> mostly because we beat up on anyone who says

> different. Ah, free speech.

>

> Every culture has something they verbalize as their

> best feature (close family ties, freedom, etc) and

> unbeknownst to them, they DO the opposite. We are

> actually one of the less free countries in the world.

> Yes, we are more free than people were during the

> reign of the Camer Rouge (sp?) which is always a

> favorite of ours to compare with as is Nazi Germany -

> but ANYWHERE in the world is more free than that.

>

> We will never change our faults if we overlook them

> and label others who point these faults out as being

> envious. It's always easy to count how many times we

> have to put up with the faults of others while

> thinking they never have to put up with our own,

> seeing as we don't have any.

>

> As a list, we are a microcosm of the world and look

> how often we dissolve into mud-slinging and

> hair-pulling. [My hands being just as full of mud and

> hair as anyone else's.]

>

> Maybe we can give each other a break, and as Juliana

> said (paraphrasing), send each other some love, cause

> boy do we need it.

>

> Love to all,

> The Pot who calls the Kettle black

>

>

>

>

>