I hope it is OK, I have some thoughts relating to this topic.
I am asking what is the division between within and without after all? We impact the field and change the world around us by the frequency of our thoughts and it is well said that the world is a mirror to ourself.
So is there really a battle? What is the drama except the depth of the illusion driving this apparent separation? It is another form of self discovery that has only one resolution. As you may say Brahman discovering itself. All is just that after all.
However this implies evolution, self discovery, growth and consider that we may be here now on this density because we have been self destructive, that we have denied our divinity in ourselves, and that we are in process of returning to source.
So there is a problem if there is a degree of stuckness on the part of humanity, as elucidated by such as
The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary. Servitude by Étienne de la Boétie, written 1552-53.
Showing that it is just complacency that allows the elite to rule in tyranny of the masses.
then surely we can ask if the crisis we face is the shock we have to have to shift us out of this natural complacency and into a more integrated society in tune with the unified order we belong to. ?
Surely we only need to awaken to our true selves.? But if we are stuck in a complacent somnambulance then we have come up against our own shadow, and it is a crisis of our own making that we need to face? To cease denying the divinity with us?
As you say –
“As an elixir to these dark times, the light of Vedic philosophy shines through the cracks of a scorched earth and illuminates a path to liberation by showing us that every point of creation, no matter how arbitrary, contains the whole of creation and that we can access every vector of life by accessing our true selves. “
Moving forward we could well imagine a world that is in harmony with the universal truth “We do unto others as we would have done unto ourselves:”
living and being in sympathy with this truth implies integration with all.
This is the world we can awaken to if we connect with our higher self and vibrate with the frequency of love.
Appreciate your comments very much. You have raised valuable points and theres an essay in your line of enquiry...
I suppose the battle is between good and evil, between dharma and adharma, and this battle happens at the individual, existential level, irrespective of what’s happening around us, it is our true nature battling with our own shadows, and its those shadows and attachments that do the most damage, nothing else really touches us once we awaken to our true potential. Very often the external battles are merely tests. It's about knowing the path and following it though our thoughts, words and deeds. Creating good karma along the journey. Sometimes we are driven by selfish, desirous, egoic or illusory motives. Others spend their entire existences under such auspices.
The world, as you say, is a mirror to us (as we are to the world), and there’s probably not much difference between the within and without, internal and external, subject and object, when you really break it down (I covered some of this in part 1 of this article). The path is about knowing oneself and committing to dharma, whatever the cost. At least thats my takeaway from studying The Vedas.
I agree that we are all wandering towards the source, some are more advanced, others less, but hopefully we are all on the same trajectory. The daily battles and conflicts we have within, reflects the greater battles playing out geopolitically - the way we do little things is the way we do big things.
The analogy I would use is a dirty hosepipe that hasn’t seen much usage, once you run clean water through the first thing to come out is the build up of dirt. And perhaps many who are asleep are just like that dirt coming out of the hosepipe prior to the clean water breaking through and the great cleanse and purge thereafter.
I wholeheartedly agree about complacency. Throughout COVID people forget their humanity and went along with the deceit and theatrics, because they were compromised and incentivised to do so. Whether through the pursuit of status and reputation, financial reward, fear of disapproval, or coercion from The State. In the grand scheme of things these are not really excuses, but complacency.
The elites are incredibly organised whereas the civil sphere is polarised. The impact of mass media cannot be underestimated as a weapon of social engineering and divide and rule. Then there’s the PSYOPs (covered in part 2 of my article).
I believe that at the highest echelons of power there is fear. Property is theft, and the billionaire elites have acquired their power and wealth through nefarious means, and the technique of power is about keeping the masses in the dark about the how and why, because if people ever got wise (and empowered) to whats really happening, they would topple the house of cards in an instant.
I also agree that we only need to awaken to our true natures. We have incredible power. And once that divinity is honoured within, we are victorious, and everything else is a trifle. We greet both imposters - success and failure - the same.
We are that frequency of love, once you peel away the ephemeral layers of trauma, whats left is pure, wholesome light.
I may need to re-read this third part, which didn't quite resonate with me in the same way that the earlier two articles did. But an awesome essay nonetheless, and the points where I'd quibble are simply because of having more familiarity with (Theravadan) Buddhist understanding of samsara, and how the wheel is kept spinning round.
The process was explained by Gautama in the Paṭiccasamuppāda Sutta and known familiarly as the theory of dependent origination. One rendition of the Sutta is this one: https://suttacentral.net/sn12.1/en/bodhi
A supreme irony, a couple of years ago, was to 'attend' via Zoom a teaching by Bhikkhu Bodhi - the scholar who has translated great swathes of the Pali Canon (including the link above). He was very evidently, as a typical New Yorker I guess, wholly sold on the notion that the Cronyvirus was deadly and that the only hope was to follow the advice of the esteemed Dr Fauci, who he named specifically and with warmth. Many other religious leaders (and academics) blundered down this same path.
Anyway: the process of dependent origination is illustrated in the outer ring of the bhavacakka illustration shown at the top of part 1. The fearsome creature that holds the wheel is Mara, death. (Maya, by the way, was the name of Gautama's mother, apparently.)
But the essential principle, as you've captured so very well in Pt. 1, is the 'looping' character of our self-delusions, and how these are set spinning or gather added momentum due to malicious narratives and deployment of power (as outlined in Pt. 2).
How do some people resist this more succesfully than others, I wonder? There's a whole other essay there..!
I enjoyed your article very much.
I hope it is OK, I have some thoughts relating to this topic.
I am asking what is the division between within and without after all? We impact the field and change the world around us by the frequency of our thoughts and it is well said that the world is a mirror to ourself.
So is there really a battle? What is the drama except the depth of the illusion driving this apparent separation? It is another form of self discovery that has only one resolution. As you may say Brahman discovering itself. All is just that after all.
However this implies evolution, self discovery, growth and consider that we may be here now on this density because we have been self destructive, that we have denied our divinity in ourselves, and that we are in process of returning to source.
So there is a problem if there is a degree of stuckness on the part of humanity, as elucidated by such as
The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary. Servitude by Étienne de la Boétie, written 1552-53.
Showing that it is just complacency that allows the elite to rule in tyranny of the masses.
https://cdn.mises.org/Politics%20of%20Obedience.pdf
then surely we can ask if the crisis we face is the shock we have to have to shift us out of this natural complacency and into a more integrated society in tune with the unified order we belong to. ?
Surely we only need to awaken to our true selves.? But if we are stuck in a complacent somnambulance then we have come up against our own shadow, and it is a crisis of our own making that we need to face? To cease denying the divinity with us?
As you say –
“As an elixir to these dark times, the light of Vedic philosophy shines through the cracks of a scorched earth and illuminates a path to liberation by showing us that every point of creation, no matter how arbitrary, contains the whole of creation and that we can access every vector of life by accessing our true selves. “
Moving forward we could well imagine a world that is in harmony with the universal truth “We do unto others as we would have done unto ourselves:”
living and being in sympathy with this truth implies integration with all.
This is the world we can awaken to if we connect with our higher self and vibrate with the frequency of love.
It is who we truly are.
Hi Brad,
Appreciate your comments very much. You have raised valuable points and theres an essay in your line of enquiry...
I suppose the battle is between good and evil, between dharma and adharma, and this battle happens at the individual, existential level, irrespective of what’s happening around us, it is our true nature battling with our own shadows, and its those shadows and attachments that do the most damage, nothing else really touches us once we awaken to our true potential. Very often the external battles are merely tests. It's about knowing the path and following it though our thoughts, words and deeds. Creating good karma along the journey. Sometimes we are driven by selfish, desirous, egoic or illusory motives. Others spend their entire existences under such auspices.
The world, as you say, is a mirror to us (as we are to the world), and there’s probably not much difference between the within and without, internal and external, subject and object, when you really break it down (I covered some of this in part 1 of this article). The path is about knowing oneself and committing to dharma, whatever the cost. At least thats my takeaway from studying The Vedas.
I agree that we are all wandering towards the source, some are more advanced, others less, but hopefully we are all on the same trajectory. The daily battles and conflicts we have within, reflects the greater battles playing out geopolitically - the way we do little things is the way we do big things.
The analogy I would use is a dirty hosepipe that hasn’t seen much usage, once you run clean water through the first thing to come out is the build up of dirt. And perhaps many who are asleep are just like that dirt coming out of the hosepipe prior to the clean water breaking through and the great cleanse and purge thereafter.
I wholeheartedly agree about complacency. Throughout COVID people forget their humanity and went along with the deceit and theatrics, because they were compromised and incentivised to do so. Whether through the pursuit of status and reputation, financial reward, fear of disapproval, or coercion from The State. In the grand scheme of things these are not really excuses, but complacency.
The elites are incredibly organised whereas the civil sphere is polarised. The impact of mass media cannot be underestimated as a weapon of social engineering and divide and rule. Then there’s the PSYOPs (covered in part 2 of my article).
I believe that at the highest echelons of power there is fear. Property is theft, and the billionaire elites have acquired their power and wealth through nefarious means, and the technique of power is about keeping the masses in the dark about the how and why, because if people ever got wise (and empowered) to whats really happening, they would topple the house of cards in an instant.
I also agree that we only need to awaken to our true natures. We have incredible power. And once that divinity is honoured within, we are victorious, and everything else is a trifle. We greet both imposters - success and failure - the same.
We are that frequency of love, once you peel away the ephemeral layers of trauma, whats left is pure, wholesome light.
I may need to re-read this third part, which didn't quite resonate with me in the same way that the earlier two articles did. But an awesome essay nonetheless, and the points where I'd quibble are simply because of having more familiarity with (Theravadan) Buddhist understanding of samsara, and how the wheel is kept spinning round.
The process was explained by Gautama in the Paṭiccasamuppāda Sutta and known familiarly as the theory of dependent origination. One rendition of the Sutta is this one: https://suttacentral.net/sn12.1/en/bodhi
A supreme irony, a couple of years ago, was to 'attend' via Zoom a teaching by Bhikkhu Bodhi - the scholar who has translated great swathes of the Pali Canon (including the link above). He was very evidently, as a typical New Yorker I guess, wholly sold on the notion that the Cronyvirus was deadly and that the only hope was to follow the advice of the esteemed Dr Fauci, who he named specifically and with warmth. Many other religious leaders (and academics) blundered down this same path.
Anyway: the process of dependent origination is illustrated in the outer ring of the bhavacakka illustration shown at the top of part 1. The fearsome creature that holds the wheel is Mara, death. (Maya, by the way, was the name of Gautama's mother, apparently.)
But the essential principle, as you've captured so very well in Pt. 1, is the 'looping' character of our self-delusions, and how these are set spinning or gather added momentum due to malicious narratives and deployment of power (as outlined in Pt. 2).
How do some people resist this more succesfully than others, I wonder? There's a whole other essay there..!