to Manoj about long term perspective

[Guest guest]

Dear Manoj ~ I am so sorry for your grief over the Mumbai terrorism. I cried

when I heard about it, and have been deeply saddened ever since. I have also

been upset by the USA not stepping up to the plate in any way, and also for

the lack of ongoing coverage -- to show that the devastation did not end in

three days. (For example, there are still many many people who are still

affected by the Tsunami and by Hurricane Katrina. Just because the news

coverage

went away doesn't mean the need did. Many of those people still need help,

and now the devastated people of Mumbai will have ongoing needs that need to be

addressed.

 

We (meaning the US) should have done something ~ offer to send some troops

if the political leaders in India wanted that kind of support, or at the very

least extended a message of concern so loud that nobody could ignore it. If

such a sentiment was issued I am not aware of it, though I believe Bush put

something out after the attack had been stopped.

 

It may be simplistic, but Amma cares, and I'm sure a large number of Her

devotees care. When we do the prayer list seva, we should be especially mindful

of recent events and offer our sincerest prayers for all affected.

 

In a very disturbing way, terrorism makes no sense because it has no

constructive purpose beyond just terribly terribly affecting and hurting people.

I

believe that this kind of warfare, based on hitting " soft targets, " i.e.,

people instead of military, began in Viet Nam. That is part of why we did so

poorly. We were operating under SOP, and the other side was doing everything and

anything to go outside the lines of that. This kind of warfare has been going

on in the east for a long time, so it isn't that we were unaware of it, just,

I guess, that we never believed that we would be drawn into this type of

very personal warfare.

 

What can we do? Make peace in our hearts and our homes, and with our larger

surroundings the top priority. Each step begins with me, or with you, or

another individual. Another g roup to which I belong is given a year-long seva,

specifically for the purpose of promoting peace everywhere. It is different

from the Prayer List because that group also has its own prayer seva. Usually

it

is some type of mantra that people commit to saying as many each day as they

can, for an entire year. I like to think that this helps. But we also need

to help more concretely. Many will need ongoing medical care they may not be

able to pay for, and many will need some kind of psychological support because

they will now have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Do you know of any seva

that has been offered, by Amma or anyone else of great stature, that we might

participate in? Perhaps someone who knows him better could write and ask

Dyamrita about this.

 

 

I know I am helping by doing my best to create peace in my heart and

surroundings, but I would like to do re more, if there were a way to do it, like

the

online auction the M.A. Center held to help the Tsunami victims. Perhaps

another such auction could be held to assist the survivors in Mumbai. I hope

something comes forward for all of us to do. Jai Jai Ma

~ Linda

 

Manoj wrote:

 

....Who is really taking a responsible stance towards this from a long-

term perspective? should anyone really take such a stand?

 

or does it even matter? after all, it's just silly middle-class or

lower citizens of another country who die, right? who really bloody

cares? do even the middle-classers care ENOUGH?...

 

 

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