Friday, October 28, 2011
Thursday, July 3, 2008
CAPITALISM IS CAUSE OF CORRUPTION AND BLACK MARKETING
Monday, June 23, 2008
Priests & Politicians : The Old Conspiracy
Certainly we are responsible, but it is a vicious circle; we are not the only ones who are responsible. The successful politicians and priests go on conditioning the new generations for the same ambitions; they make the society, they cultivate its mind and conditioning. They are also responsible -- and they are more responsible than the common people, because the common people are victims of all kinds of programs that are being imposed upon them.
The child comes into the world without any ambition, without any lust for power, without any idea that he is higher, holier, superior. Certainly he cannot be responsible. Those who bring him up -- the parents, the society, the educational system, the politicians, the priests -- the same gang goes on spoiling every child. Of course in his own turn, he will spoil... but it is a vicious circle. From where to break it?
I insist on condemning the priests and the politicians, because that is the place from where it can be broken. Condemning the small children coming into the world is not going to help. Condemning the common masses is also not going to help, because they have been already conditioned -- they are being exploited. They are suffering, they are miserable. But nothing wakes them up -- they are fast asleep. The only point where our condemnations should be concentrated is on those who have the power, because they have the power to contaminate the future generations. If they can be stopped we can have a new man.
I know that everybody is responsible. Whatever happens, in some way or other, everybody has his own part in it. But to me what is important is whom to hit, so that for the new generation of children the vicious circle can be avoided. Humanity has been revolving in it for centuries. That's why I don't condemn the common masses, I don't condemn you. I condemn those who are now in a position that if they just relax a little bit as far as their vested interests are concerned, and look at the miserable mass of humanity, a transformation is possible -- the circle can be broken.
I purposely choose the politicians and the priests. There are many other things to be remembered. The priest knows perfectly well that there is no God. In this world the priest is the only person who knows there is no God, but his whole profession depends on this non-existential God. He cannot say the truth because all his vested interests will be lost -- not only his, but for generations to come he will be spoiling the whole game. He knows the rituals are just hocus-pocus, that the mantras carry no power, that his theology is just a cover-up. Nobody else knows it better; he has studied the scriptures and he knows there is no evidence of God anywhere. He interprets the scriptures in such a way that they help his profession. He goes on making commentaries on the ancient scriptures, adding more and more things that are helpful for his profession.
As times change he has to make new additions. For example, Manu, a five thousand year old thinker, priest, the father of priesthood, in his manusmriti -- the memoirs of Manu which Hindus follow word by word -- he created the caste system, one of the ugliest things in existence.
Because of it one fourth of Hindus have suffered a long slavery, exploitation and humiliation. They have been turned almost into subhuman beings -- they are called achhoot, untouchables. They have fallen so much that you cannot touch them; otherwise you have to take a bath immediately. Even their shadow touching you is enough to make you impure. Manu reduced one-fourth of the Hindus to eternal slavery it seems.
He managed the highest position in the society for the priesthood, but he was really cunning and clever: he has given all the superiority to brahmins, but he has not given them riches, nor material, temporal power. He has divided the castes so there is no conflict. Temporal power he has given to the second highest caste: the warriors, kshatriyas. They are going to be the kings, they are going to be the generals, the soldiers, the fighters, and they will be the second highest class. And money he has given to the third: the businessmen, the vaishyas. To the fourth he has given nothing -- except slavery.
You can see the cunningness... he divides. He does not give money to brahmins, or temporal power, because then three-fourths of the society will be against them, and it will not be possible to control. And if they have also spiritual power, material power, money, then there will be resentment, anger, violence -- there will be riots. So to brahmins he gives the holy power -- they are the highest, the holiest -- but he does not give anything temporal to them.
He gives the temporal power to the warriors. It is satisfying, because they are going to be the kings; brahmins cannot be the kings. And who cares about spiritual power? So let them have spiritual power; it is almost like having nothing, just a nominal quality of being superior, so the warriors are not angry about it. On the contrary, they are happy that one-fourth of the society will never be in conflict with them -- they are already higher, they have nothing more to gain. And the warriors are the most powerful people.
To the third he gives money and all other worldly things. These are the people who cannot fight, who are not warriors -- but they can earn money, they can produce wealth.
You will be surprised to know that in India all the kings, before India became a slave country, were indebted to the rich people. From where are they going to get money? -- just by borrowing. They can pay when they invade some other country; otherwise they have to borrow from the business people. And the business people are happy; they have all the material things, money... Not only that, kings are borrowing from them, brahmins have to depend on them for everything -- so let them believe that they are higher... but basically the business people hold the power, they have the money.
And against these three classes the poor fourth has no power to fight. They are deprived of all education, deprived even of living in the city; they have to live outside the town. They cannot take water from the city well -- they have to make their own wells or carry water from the river. They are completely cut off from the society. They have just to come and serve, and do all the ugliest things that nobody else wants to do. And three powerful sections are there to go on repressing them; they have money, they have power, they have spiritual heights -- they are the representatives of God.
For five thousand years they have maintained this -- and they have made the fourth, the slaves, believe that you are born slaves because of your evil acts in the past life -- this is the punishment. The brahmin is enjoying his position because of good acts in his past life. And there is no mobility; one cannot move from one caste to another caste.
Since Manu, the priests in India have remained the most anti-revolutionary element -- naturally, because they will lose their superiority. Kings come to touch their feet, the superrich come to touch their feet -- their ego is fulfilled. And the same is the story around the world -- everywhere the priesthood has maintained its superiority. It is not so clear-cut as in India, but a subtle division is there. The priest is everywhere superior, the warrior is everywhere number two, and the rich man is everywhere number three. The fourth, the slave, the servant, is everywhere the same.
These priests go on preaching to every child a certain kind of mind that keeps the society running -- or stuck. The politicians are in a deep conspiracy with the priests. The politicians are full of lust for power, and if they want power, they want blessings from the priests, because the priests have a spiritual hold over humanity. And if a politician goes and touches the feet of a priest, the followers of the priest are going to vote for the politician. There is a conspiracy: the politician goes on praising the priest, his religion, his ideology, and the priests go on blessing the politician and his ideology. And between these two powerful groups the whole society is crushed, sucked.
I know everybody is responsible, but not everybody is powerful enough to break the circle; hence I am hitting constantly on the priests and the politicians. And now they have become afraid of me -- perhaps they have never been afraid of a single man before. All over the world they don't want me to enter into their countries. The priests are behind the politicians who are making rules and laws that I should be prohibited.
The commune in America was destroyed by the politicians, but behind the politicians were the fundamentalist Christians, the most orthodox group of Christian priests. They were in conspiracy together to destroy the commune.
Just the other day I received the news that now they are making a memorial in The Dalles; bishops and politicians and all kinds of leading, prominent citizens are contributing money -- a big memorial, a memorial that they have become victorious, that they have thrown away the evil forces who had created the commune. They have thrown me out, destroyed my work, and they are not satisfied with that; they want to create a memorial so that the future generations will know.
And both the priests and the politicians are very vulnerable; they have no ground beneath their feet. Just a good hit is needed and they will be finished. And once they are finished, society will have a taste of freedom.
We can bring up children in a more human way, unconditioned, intelligent, looking at the whole earth as one -- not Christians, not Hindus, not Mohammedans, not Indians, not Chinese, not Americans. Nations and religions are creations of the priests and the politicians. Once they are finished, religions and nations are also finished.
And a world free of religions, free of nations, will be a human world -- without wars, without unnecessarily fighting for things which nobody has seen....
It is so stupid that for thousands of years people have been killing each other in the name of God. None of them has seen, none of them has any proof, none of them has any evidence. And they don't even feel embarrassed, because nobody has, looking directly into their eyes, asked the question.... And they are going on crusades, jihads, religious wars, destroying all those who do not believe in their dogma, because their dogma is divine and every other dogma is the devil's creation.
They are trying to serve humanity by killing people. Their intention is to free those people from the clutches of the devil. But the strangest thing is that every religion thinks that the other religion is created by the devil. So the fight continues. Politicians are fighting war after war -- for what? I don't see the point. The earth has no lines; then why make these maps and draw lines?
One of my teachers was a very intelligent man. One day he brought a few pieces of cardboard; he had cut the whole world map into small pieces, put them on the desk and asked, "Can anybody come and arrange them in the right order?" Many tried and failed. Just one boy, seeing that everybody was failing and they were not making the world map by putting the pieces together, he looked at one piece on the reverse side. Then he turned all the pieces over and he found the picture of a man. He arranged the picture of the man, which was very easy, and that was the key. On one side the man was arranged, and on the other side, the world map was arranged.
Perhaps the same is true about the real world... if we can arrange man, the world will be arranged. If we can make man silent, peaceful, loving, nations will disappear, wars will disappear, all dirty politics will disappear. And remember, all politics is dirty; there is no other kind.
But we have to hit on those who have the power. Hitting the poor common man will not help, because he has no power, he is a victim. Even if we can change him, it won't be a great change. But if we can abolish the conspiracy between religion and politics, priests and the politicians, it will be really a great change, a revolution -- the only revolution that is needed and that has not happened yet.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
COMPASSION :- BEYOND SYMPATHY
Choosing the company of those who are hurting requires courage. Even professionals trained to assist those in pain or grief instinctively want to pull away. In volunteers or friends, our self doubt brings up feelings of inadequacy, to the point of being afraid we’ll say or do things that make people feel worse. Currently healthy and with our loved ones safe, what do we have to offer those who are ill or must face life without their parent, child, or partner?
There is nothing anyone can say to take away pain and fear. There is no magic incantation that reduces suffering. What you can do is to listen without judging, and offer your time with no expectation it will make a difference. Your willingness to be genuine and kind is all you have to offer. This is the starting point for acting from compassion.
Although sympathy is a form of caring, it implies pity. We express concern and ask what we can do, yet are grateful their problems are not ours. This perpetuates the fear that we couldn’t bear the same situation, and keeps us wanting to avoid the truth of their experience. While it is natural to feel sympathy when someone is hurting, there is little sense of what to offer as meaningful support.
Compassion is a hard-won state of being. Much more than a feeling, compassion is a choice to view suffering is a universal experience. This means viewing illness, loss, and even death as human experiences that are bearable with support. This helps us remain calm and keep our hearts open, and we become able to sit with someone in great physical or emotional pain. Compassion bridges the distance between people often created by suffering. This is not comfortable to do, as we must acknowledge their problems might reflect our own future.
Separating from someone’s pain protects against feeling overwhelmed and helpless. We are born tenderhearted. The presence of pain or problems engenders the impulse to make things better. This is a child’s view of how to be helpful. Our job is to make suffering into an enemy and rail against it. The adult perspective embraces the truth that the best gift we have is a willingness to share in their experience without the defense of sympathy.
I learned this early in my career as a social worker volunteering with hospice. Protected by a great deal of study in maintaining professional distance, I offered practical guidance about end of life issues and choices. During my first year I was sent into many homes and hospital rooms, fortified with pamphlets and sympathetic intentions.
A hospice referral gave me only that the patient was “Caroline,” barely thirty and with only days left due to widespread cancer. Her family requested support from hospice and I was assigned to assess their needs. When I walked into the room, Caroline was in intense pain because her morphine line had become kinked. Her sister and husband were stunned into helplessness. I failed to find helpful words. I leaned against the doorway, feeling panicked and inadequate. My clinical detachment faded and I couldn’t stop the tears. Minutes stretched while the nurse re-opened the IV line and we watched Caroline’s slow release from pain.
Once I was able to reclaim my breath, I touched the hand of the sleeping woman. No words could give comfort and no advice was warranted. The only gift I could offer was the willingness to stay and be open to whatever the family wanted to say. Looking at the two who were losing her in this difficult way, I said, “This is so sad. Tell me about Caroline and what you have been going through.”
The sharing of that single moment created a bond of trust between the family and me. This allowed them to openly discuss conflicts and decisions the family struggling with. They were grateful to have an advocate who listened to their feelings without judgment. I was honored by their honesty. It’s been twenty years and whenever I see Caroline’s sister in town, I remember the compassion from our shared vulnerability.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SYMPATHY AND COMPASSION
Read an item on the left list and breathe. Read the companion statement on the right and breathe again. Notice the differences between how you feel after reading each phrase.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sympathy brings the weight of sorrow into the room. Suffering is viewed as a tragedy beyond bearing. Sometimes it is denied or minimized. “My uncle had this problem and he’s just fine now.” Or, “God never gives people more than they can handle.” Advice about how to think about their situation is given freely. These efforts prevent the giver from entering into a shared state.
There is a terrible cost to the relationship in keeping separate. We cannot distance our self from others’ pain and still maintain a heart connection. Receivers feel compelled to dilute what they say to avoid adding to the burden their suffering causes others. They are often angry and exhausted after such a visit.
Compassion on the part of the giver keeps both heart and mind open in the presence of another’s suffering. Compassion accepts every element of the human story and never implies what is happening is unbearable. We also consciously avoid judgment of how emotions are expressed or the choices they are making. This opens us to the perspective of seeing someone going through a very human experience and not faced with an unendurable situation.
INCREASE YOUR EXPRESSION OF COMPASSION
Whether friend, volunteer, or health professional, you can shift from sympathy to compassion by employing simple actions. Compassion springs from the profound sense of being human and acknowledging the truth of another’s experience without pity or fear. Compassion frees us to be courageous and loving, even while sitting with someone who is suffering. When we accept we are not immune from the same fate, we become more skillful and available. Compassion offers a bridge of trust and potential for honesty. use the following tools to help you be grounded in compassion and acceptance.
w Use breath to increase your compassion and reduce stress. Breathing to release your own tension also brings calm to those around you. Practice conscious breathing by internally counting each exhale as you breathe up to five deliberate breaths, then count your breaths back down to one again. This process quiets internal chatter and increases your ability to be patient and tolerate silence. You enhance the ability to listen beyond intellect and with your whole being.
w Be empty of expectation. It’s natural to question your usefulness when meeting with people in pain. Prepare for each meeting or telephone call by pausing before you engage with them. As you prepare to dial their number or while standing in front of their door, fill yourself with breath and calm. Empty your thoughts about what you think they need or how they are doing. Detach from the idea to feel important or useful and be open to receiving whatever they have to give.
w Avoid thinking of clients as helpless. Most of us prefer to do things at our own pace rather than being treated as needy. Imagine you are in a similar circumstance; ask yourself how you would want to be perceived. To increase rapport and trust, ask the patient and family what they would like more of and need less during your visits. It is often easier to give than receive. To accept the time and energy of others, especially volunteers, takes humility and self-esteem. When the giver brings pity, the exchange depletes precious energy.
w Move and talk calmly, never be in a hurry. Each meeting is an opportunity for a heart connection, even while doing a simple task. Increase your patience by slowing your normal energetic pace. Whatever else in your day has come before or will come after this moment with them has no place in this visit. Adapt to the patients’ voice tone and volume. Pace their rhythm for at least three breaths. This is especially important if you want to touch them, offer a massage, or assist them in moving. Begin by gently touching a non-injured area before starting any process. Ask if there any way you can make this easier or gentler for them. Let them know you want to hear suggestions or requests at any time.
w Listen without offering solutions: People in need of medical and volunteer assistance are inundated with suggestions from professionals and well-meaning friends. They may feel incapable of discussion or making decisions about what they will do after the death. Just listening lets them feel the freedom to speak from the heart. Practice the counted breathing to help you be patient during long silences or when there are interruptions in your visit. If they ask your opinion, offer one idea at a time, gently and without ego. Don’t try to predict or influence the outcome. If you are asked to assist in making decisions, ask open-ended questions to guide rather than require instant answers. Allow plenty of silence for them to think over their options. Avoid judgment about what they should be doing.
Don’t take chaos personally or try to fix it: Even when you are in pure compassion, it’s natural to ask if you’re needed or in the way when:
* Patient or family forget you are coming, even if written on the calendar.
* Staff or volunteers arrive at the same time as your visit.
* Close friends and family supplant your role for that day, and expect you to understand.
* Family or friends act inappropriately and you feel powerless to intervene.
Never question your usefulness or compare what you have to offer. Simply be ready to serve and meet everyone with compassion. Stay as flexible as you can. Leave gracefully, taking the initiative to reconnect later. Be honest if you can’t “come back a little later.” If the situation feels constantly chaotic, ask for guidance or support from a hospice nurse or the coordinator.
w Allow others to cry or be silent without interruption: Patting someone who is crying is universally perceived as a signal to stop, and the sadness and hurt are making you uncomfortable. Consciously relax. If you say anything, try, “Don’t bite back the tears. It’s good to let them out.” If you feel your eyes well up, let the tears roll. You are showing your compassion and shared experience. This is true for professionals and volunteers as well as friends. Few are comfortable crying in front of others, or expressing strong feelings in front of them. Practice counted breathing, and relax your body. Everyone deserves to have at least one person who allows free expression of fear, tears, and anger without being reminded he or she is supposed to be strong enough to handle what is happening.
w Expect to feel upset at times. It’s normal to occasionally feel numb or confused. You are connecting with people facing the hardest time of their lives. They might be dying or terrified of losing someone. It’s natural to feel guilty at your fortune, or wonder if you could handle their situation with grace. Compassion means accepting the reality of what is happening in the moment. We all need times of peace and joy. Plan for significant breaks and give yourself places to be self-nurturing. Reflect with kindness on your feelings to sense if you to need to step aside for a time.
w Compassion with yourself and other caregivers helps avoid burnout: Spending time with people in acute pain and grief asks you to be at your best and highest self. The good days, when you feel you’ve been helpful, make the effort worthwhile. If you make repeated mistakes, or are unable to relieve your mental or physical stress, you are moving into burnout. Burnout can be defined as using up one aspect of your personality. Seek guidance and training whenever you doubt your abilities. Acknowledge others when you observe their good work, kindness, and compassion. Offer to give, and ask for, neck rubs and walking breaks. This makes it safer for others to be vulnerable and admit their needs. We give more when we learn to share in the loving kindness this effort deserves.
COMPASSION THRIVES ON LOVE & TRUST
Professionals are often cautioned they will diminish their technical skills and clinical usefulness by caring too much. Objectivity can bring mental clarity needed for moments in emergency and when making critical decisions There are times when we need to step back, and briefly see a “case” rather than a person. Without tapping into our own self-trust and loving-kindness, spending significant time with those in deep grief or pain can leave us feeling hollow.
Ultimately, the bond of trust we build with patients and other caregivers strengthens self-confidence and encourages us to improve our skills. We do our best work when we consciously think of and speak to patients as fellow human beings with rich life experiences, and not as tragic victims of circumstance. You’ll build trust by appreciating the ways each patient and family tolerates their unique experiences.
Monday, June 2, 2008
The Greatest Synthesis:
SCIENCE WILL BE for making life |
Revenge or Understanding: The Rule of Law or of Love
ALL LEGAL SYSTEMS are nothing but the revenge of society -- |
A World of Communes
MY VISION OF a new world, the world of communes, means no nations, no big cities, no families, but millions of small communes spread all over the earth in thick forests, lush green forests, in mountains, on islands. The smallest commune manageable can be of five thousand people, and the biggest commune can be of fifty thousand people. From five thousand to fifty thousand -- more than that will become unmanageable; then again comes the question of order and law, and the police, and the court, and all the old criminals have to be brought back. |