(No subject)

[Guest guest]

Dear list members,

 

I guess the difference between us is to some degree cultural.

In the West there is a practice, especially amongst sincere seekers, of

"straight talking".

If you say something about a spiritual teaching it is only so that it can be

absorbed by the listener in a way that would immediately affect his view of

things, his understanding and his well-being. In the East, I am beginning to

think, there is a practice of affirming sacred doctrine for its own sake,

whether the hearer really understands it or not, whether it would affect his

well-being or not. And there is also a practice in spiritual circles of

affirming "sacred doctrine" because it is the respectable thing to do, whether

the one expounding it understands it or not. This is why I made the reference to

Saint Teresa and St John of the Cross - they told what they had seen for

themselves, and the Church authorities hated them for it.

 

Furthermore, the West seems to have a more egalitarian way of behaving. So, in

the East, it seems to be the practice that people who can get themselves

recognized as Pandits or other authority figures feel free to be arrogant and

contemptuous to others, while ordinary people feel obliged to hold their

tongues no matter what absurdity is being spoken, if it is being spoken by an

authority figure.

 

In former times, and in orthodox circles, it used to be the case in the West

also, to blindly worship the Scriptures, whether you understood them or not, and

to blindly acquiesce in front of the church authority figures, even if you

understood not a word of what they said, even if it was obvious that the

authorities understood not a word of what they said. But amongst Western Truth

seekers, the kind of people who might be motivated to explore Advaita, this is

mostly not the case. These people want real answers, not empty formulations of

high-sounding platitudes. Perhaps some of the older Westerners came to the East

simply to find an alternative orthodoxy. Well, shame on them. They themselves

contain a sensor to detect truth and if they disregard that sensor they are

betraying God. God speaks through the scriptures but She also speaks through the

still small voice that whispers in the ear of everyone.

 

What do think is the Godly thing to do, to tell the truth as you see it or mouth

high sounding platitudes?

 

When I write this my intention is that you will recognize that you also are a

child of God, that God speaks to you directly and not just through scriptures,

and that you will then be faithful to what you yourself deem to be true, even if

it goes against the scriptures. And if the scriptures say something that you

don't understand, be honest and say so, rather than adopt a veneer of

knowledgeability.

 

You might say, "Well, you can keep your western attitudes. This is an Eastern

website." But in that case, why conduct it in English? Why not conduct it in

Hindi?

 

Anyway, I do not think that Shankara is the exclusive property of Indians any

more than Jesus is the exclusive property of Christians, or Rumi is the

exclusive property of Muslims."

 

In truth

Warwick