Something to think about

[Guest guest]

Namaste!

 

Like any good American, I believe in freedom of speech, as well as

freedom in general, even though I realize there are costs and

consequences and therefore responsibilities. But the following

article on the introduction of television into Bhutan is a real

eye-opener. The result: Bhutan's first crime wave!

>Four years ago, Bhutan, the fabled Himalayan Shangri-la, became the last

>nation on earth to introduce television. Suddenly a culture, barely changed in

>centuries, was bombarded by 46 cable channels. And all too soon came Bhutan's

>first crime wave - murder, fraud, drug offences. Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian

>Levy report from a country crash-landing in the 21st century

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,975769,00.html

 

I think it is disgusting for such a beautiful culture to be

'spiritually raped' in this way. See:

 

http://www.englander-workshops.com/bhutan/bhutangallery.htm

 

Do you really want to see this beauty replaced with garbage

entertainment, blue jeans and grubby T-shirts, not to mention crime

and drugs? (By the way, this beauty cam from the spirituality of

Buddhism. Now you can see why I have often written enthusiastically

about Buddhism. It is the form of Hindu spirituality that is

suitable for export to the rest of the world. Furthermore, I can see

much similarity between the colorful and imaginative traditions shown

here and those of India. I hope they keep the tourists from

polluting this sacred place. Oh, I might as well admit it! I hate

the modern world with its unrelenting vulgarity, mediocrity, and

spiritual blindness. It's enough to make me ponder jettisoning

western values after all.)

 

It really makes me wonder what is good for society. As an American,

I feel that the values of democracy, freedom of thought and speech,

and separation of religion and state should be promoted throughout

the world as the only way for humanity to move forward. And yet I

can also sympathize with those traditional societies who feel

revulsion at much of American culture. This explains part of the

Muslim hatred of America; you cannot blame it all on intolerance. I

can even somewhat sympathize with the idea of beheading those greedy

corporate vultures who get rich by exploiting people's worst

weaknesses. (Uh-oh! Righteous indignation is turning me into the

enemy!)

 

This may explain why God allowed the more primitive and intolerant

religions to flourish for a while. Too much freedom may be

disastrous, if humans are not mature enough to handle it.

 

I don't have a solution, except to search for the truth within, and

to at least try to temper and restrain the senses, even if we cannot

fully subjugate them. And the more humane part of me still rejects

rigid moral rules, though they may be necessary for the imbeciles and

infants in our midst. It is essential to promote sensitivity,

sympathy and the love of knowledge, i.e. true culture in the fullest

sense of the word. Those who think that feeding the body is all that

matters and that culture and religion are a luxury for the rich are

seriously mistaken. On the contrary, a healthy society and economy

can only follow from a sufficiently spiritual and enlightened

population, one that has moved beyond the 'dog-eat-dog' stage and the

crazed search for mere stimulation.

 

Om!

Benjamin