Perhaps one of the failings of language is – and there are many – that words are perhaps not sufficient to explain paradox. Let’s just say that ‘religion’ and ‘politics’ are two sides of the very same coin – like heaven and hell; life and death; etc. Again, the illusory difference emerges in where we choose to place our focus.
A holy man wandering the plains of India toward Varanasi on the Ganges, begging for his sustenance along the way, has totally abandoned politics. That is to say, he has ceased to think of himself as a separate and distinct corporal entity. He is nothing; he is also everything - and quite without bias toward any one thing that can be assigned a name. In this way, he has become like a newborn that has not yet learned to distinguish itself from what it sees. It’s interesting that the first thing we do when a baby is born is give it a name.
Alan Watts speaks of man’s internal and external organs in an effort to blur the basic rhetorical divide that gives rise to the political “I”. As the child grows and learns the names of more and more things, so also increases the distancing and fracturing that some vital part of us always feels compelled to call home. Politics is the process by which we count our possessions; by which we seek to validate our right of ownership; by which we work, litigate and fight for what we say belongs to us. The holy man has found a shortcut that bypasses all the strife, all the exertion, all the pain associated with political maneuvering. He has learned that by simply letting go, all things automatically come back to him.
I agree that the “wizened curmudgeons” in the ivory towers of our universities are doing us irreparable harm. This is only because they have become shamelessly political and we were foolish enough to place our emphasis on their degrees and rhetorical skills. But, short of killing them, they will always be with us. It is we who have afforded them undue importance. We were told that one of Obama’s many virtues was that he was a constitutional scholar at University of Chicago Law School. That was enough to disarm many of us. Now, as the rubber is hitting the road we realize how little academic titles actually mean. The University of East Anglia e-mail revelations should only broaden our doubts.
All this stuff, however, is self-correcting. We just happen to be coming down from the apex of a trend that was never sustainable in the first place.
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I was listening to an interview with george carlin who was asked how he deals with politics, currents events, government, etc. He said he takes on the role of spectator. He detached himself from participating and of outcomes. It didn't matter.
ReplyDeleteAs far as why people choose the politics they do, I do not think the psychology is all that simple. Experience and how one was raised matters. I also believe that genetics have a small part. If interesting, but it would seem that socialism and communism is more prevalent among more homogenous societies. I would posit that genetic diversity plays some role.
Still, people can and do become enculturated to their surroundings. What interests me is, if I went through the same liberal/left wing colleges that other do, why did I end up being a classical liberal instead of a member of the fabian society? It must have always been there. People with weak minds or may be better put, weak spirits are more easily changed, often times for the worst. But I digress.
If you study how communist countries indoctrinate, it's through repetition, and the destruction of tradition and the re-writing of history. Slogans are broadcast over loud speakers in Vietnam to this day. Those that will not or cannot change, are sent to re-education camps, made redundant, or escape. So I ask, who are these people with such strong spirits?
Back to your wandering shaman. While he has attained a level of freedom with detachment, I have to wonder if he was cross into a nihilistic territory of nothingness, of meaninglessness. The acquisition of property, the respect for one's own mind and the labors thereof are a good thing in my estimation. Someone that knows what it takes to survive and to be successful will have more respect for others in such pursuits. Someone that never has anything at stake, who is detached, will never respect such things and in a sense has a low value of others as well as themselves. This is just my own opinion. I have seen it with certain peoples I have worked with over the years. A detachment I call the "happy place". I'll pass. These people are used to being tools for some authoritarian power and it's how they deal with it. True enough, we are in control of very little, but the person that fights will eventually succeed. No obstacle was ever surmounted by being detached. Thanks for listening.
Interestingly, the book by Alan Watts I refer to is titled, “Does It Matter?” Also, you may have read Hermann Hesse’s “Siddhartha”. The protagonist did not reach enlightenment until old age, after he’d lived a full and productive life. He did not dismiss his experiences as irrelevant. In fact, he found these were essential to his quest. The great lesson that Krishna, the Hindu avatar of Vishnu, taught was in exhorting Arjuna’s army to fight (in the Kurukshetra War) though they didn’t want to. So you see, a state of enlightenment does not necessarily preclude (right) action.
ReplyDeleteBesides, I am convinced that every human being will be shown the light; most when standing totally deflated at death’s door, when each of us will be welcomed home and congratulated for a job well done. Any notion of regret will at this point be erased in light of a greater awareness.
At the end of life, the knowledge is all but useless. It reminds of of Hugo De Groot or Grotius, who said on his death bed, "By understanding many things, I have accomplished nothing." Such is life. If I go home, well, I will let you know.
ReplyDeleteUseful or not, it nevertheless allows us to pass unburdened into the next world. Besides, there is a biological basis for what I suggest. I'll try to find it for you if you're interested.
ReplyDeleteSure, that would be nice.
ReplyDeleteI wrote the following some years ago. It's more an explanation of what heaven and/or hell might be like:
ReplyDelete>Consider this: You are back in college. There’s a test scheduled for the next day and you still have not studied. No problem! You just happen to have some amphetamines; you can stay up all night and cram. However, first, you feel hungry and decide to go out and get something to eat. You run into some friends and you begin discussing politics. You all agree, of course, and the discussion does not lead anywhere except in a circle. Boosted right up to the edge of delicious intimacy by drug-induced hypersensitivity, you find yourself gratefully wallowing in the positive reinforcement of like-minded camaraderie. Alternately perhaps, you run into a girl and the same thing (with possible slight variations on a similar theme) happens. Suddenly you notice that the sun has come up again and you realize that you still have not studied. Where on earth did the time go?
Now, consider this: It is the day after the test. You are sure you flunked it. You might have been able to bullshit your way through it with a D or even a C-, but you were crashing; your hands shook so badly, it was difficult enough to form letters, much less think in coherent sentences. The folks back home would likely feel disappointed should they ever find out. It is they, after all, who are footing the bills for your upkeep. You need desperately to relax.
You take some Quaaludes (“ludes” you called them back in the day). After some time, that nice squishy feeling settles over you. You feel like you could easily fall asleep, but you don’t want to waste the sensation of being high. You stumble out into the sunlight on wobbly knees. The birds are chirping. At a moment’s notice, all has turned right with the world.
You end up in the Student Union Building where a friend invites you to a game of ping-pong. You have always been good at it and you feel, in your present condition, you could be even more effective. You note how slowly the ball seems to be floating across the net. Surely, you would have all the time in the world to return it. Only, your reactions too have slowed; you feel sluggish and the ball consistently ends up behind you.
To recap: Amphetamines speed the heart rate. Time appears to pass quickly. Quaaludes slow the heart rate and time appears to pass slowly. The heart rate, then, appears to determine one’s perception of time passing. What else can we learn from this?
When a person dies, the heart usually gives out first. Lacking oxygenated blood to sustain it, the brain follows suit. The interval, however brief, between when the heart stops pumping and the brain ceases to function, could then, in theory, be perceived as an eternity - an eternity to contemplate all the sins and/or blessing of one’s life as in a painting. One thing is certain, revision is no longer possible; the paints are dry, the brushes broken. Such an experience could trigger an avalanche of unceasing regret as the mind is forced to focus endlessly on the succession of anguished faces of all those one might have harmed in some way. On the other hand, it could celebrate the good one has done as reflected in the repetitive play of grateful gestures by those one might have brushed with some kindness. Most people’s after-life experience may well contain a little bit of everything to contemplate. Hitler will likely lie with his six million corpses forever.<