This week, a little more from the 'inner YAM'.
Life, the
universe and the number 42. Douglas
Adams. Hitchhiker's Guide… A lot of nonsense?
Well, yes
I suppose, but still; it caused a lot of folk to ask some big questions who
might otherwise have avoided them. Those
of us who are lucky enough to have found joy directly from scripture may wonder
at this. Must the message of
universality, spirit and values necessarily have to be couched in ancient
terms? Clearly "the Church"
has not thought so, having revised the bible into plain English at varying
times in the past 50 years. Or indeed,
into colloquial and regional languages.
Still there are many who fear or are sceptical of traditional texts of spirit. They look for it in other ways.
They are
not as rebellious or removed from the basic themes as they think though. Provided they come in contact with the good
stuff in any genre, the message will still ring out.
Star
Trek. (?!) Yes.
One famous fan wrote an equally famous book "All I ever need to
know about life I learned from ST"… and he wouldn't be too far wrong. You see, Gene Roddenberry had an egalitarian
outlook and ensured only the best of human values would be explored in the
storylines of his invention. It is a
vision that has been upheld by the various franchises which sprung from the
original. In later manifestations, too,
principles of Vedanta/Hindu philosophy showed up - including having a certain
priest class called "Vedics"!!
The
Legend of Arthur/Merlin. Here is an
example of the guru/shishya (master/student) relationship in western
milieu. Of course it has been messed
around with throughout the years, but the essential message of a society that
works on maintaining chivalry, valour and compassion, as well as the passing on
of High Wisdom to one ready to handle the responsibility, is upheld.
Being the
very best human being that one can be is a message that most can relate to and
provided that is broadcast, then overall one does not necessarily have to
enforce use of the word GOD upon anyone.
There are
those, however, who need to know more.
To understand fully. Thus each
religion has its path of "Knowledge".
Christianity has Gnosticism, Islam has Sufism, Judaism has Kabbalah and
Hinduism has Vedanta. Each of these in
their own turn have philosophical groupings.
Dear
Reader, it is in pursuit of Advaita Vedanta that I have come to India. Each of the other traditions even now hold
their 'truth of God' knowledge bases almost as secretive and even verge on
condemning them. There is fear amongst
the powerbrokers of 'faith' that an informed common crowd will cause
trouble. True, students of spiritual
philosophy must be prepared. There are
steps involved that, to a casual or hostile observer, could be mistaken for
magicks and mayhems! It is true too,
that high-flown concepts such as are posited by these traditions are not for
the average seeker.
But
neither should they be withheld. It is in following the inner voice of faith
that I came to Vedanta and discovered here many of the explanations of life
that had not been satisfied by the platitudes and stock responses of other
philosophies. It is not that those
traditions do not hold the same answers.
They do. But they are kept under
cover. Also, (and I am aware this is
going to look like a shocking statement), the 'teachers' were either unwilling,
or incapable of answering those questions for me.
I too
sought freedom of thinking about spirit through science (and its fiction). That astrophysics is finally accepting the
existence of "The God Particle" demonstrates that even this highest
of the material sciences is beginning to melt into the metaphysical. No matter where you look or what you do,
ultimately the question has to arise as to how, who and What?
When
reading deep into sanskrit texts one discovers that the seers were apparently
aware of atomics and quantum physics and were masters of the human psyche, it
is astounding. Many of the smritis
(histories of families and situations written to demonstrate the application of
the shrutis - 'god given texts'), read like modern day science fiction, with
talk of flying machines and interaction with Nature in the fullest. There are nuclear weapons and the sort of
intelligence of which modern armies can only dream. Wars are fought on the highest principles and
as a final resort only. Ethics and manners take precedence. In all cases, individual responsibility
within the community is emphasised.
The core
theme is universal. There is but one
Truth. We are all products of that
Truth. There is no colour, caste, creed
or containment within that Truth. Living
that Truth is our greatest challenge.
Only Man
divideth Man.
I found this very interesting, Yam, because I have spent considerably more than half of my life knowing that in order to be happy, joyous, and free, I must admit I am not all-powerful, and must, therefore, rely upon a Higher Power, or God as I understand God, to help me become of maximum service to others.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young, we all wanted to save the world. Later, I learned that helping to save some people, with the help of my Higher Power, would be my contribution to world service.
Luv, K
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteSo true Kay. It is the surrender of our ego that ultimately frees us to be there for others. Our Higher Self (which most call God) can only function fully when the little 'we' get out of the way!!!
With Love. YAM xxx