Conspiracy Theories and Paranoid Schizophrenia

[suchandra]

http://www.sankirtandiary.com/2007/03/conspiracy-theories-and-paranoid.html

 

Although this message looks like a message from dandavats.com, it is posted like originating from Bhakta Corey: "If you offend Bush, you offend Prabhupada. Bush - he's one of us!" (also published at planetiskcon.com)

 

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Conspiracy Theories and Paranoid Schizophrenia

Too often, we see people speaking anti-American speech, hate speech against America. So, what did Srila Prabhupada think of America? Of course, he strongly condemned the western culture, along with all of its demoniac ideologies. But did Srila Prabhupada hate America? No, he did not. In fact, he felt himself so indebted to America, for "giving him her children, money, and resources", to quote Srila Prabhupada's own words, that he was only months away from death, and could not even walk, and yet he was coming back to America for one last time, to go to the Gita Nagari farm, because he felt so indebted to America. He stopped in Britian on the way, and after a few days he told Tamal Krishna Goswami that he felt too sick, and so he went back to Vrindavan, instead of coming to Gita-Nagari farm. That is how indebted Srila Prabhupada felt himself to the Americans, that he was willing to come one last time to America.

 

So it might be just slightly offensive to Srila Prabhupada, to speak anti-American views and slogans, when he was on his deathbed, and still he could not forget how obliged he felt himself to the Americans.

 

Here is a quote from Srila Prabhupada during the last months in Vrindavana, from Tamal Krishna Goswami's "Final Pastimes of Srila Prabhupada",

 

Prabhupada: (humbly) I am only a child. (Crying) But I have tried to please my Guru Maharaja. I have not written. It is Krsna. Krsna and my Guru Maharaja. They have sent all of you to help me. Otherwise, what could I do, all alone, an old man with no friends in America? America is so good to me, to give me money, men, everything- I see no difference between one country and another, but because the Americans have given me so much facility to serve Krsna, I cannot forget my obligations to them. I want to make them happy, and through them the whole world.

 

[End of Quote]

 

So there is quite a big difference between preaching against demoniac western culture, and simply spewing fanatic hate speech against America. Anti-Americanism should be given up, because it certainly cannot be very pleasing to Srila Prabhupada.

 

 

I recently came across some anti-war, anti-government websites on the internet. It was amusing to read, because some of the wild claims that these people make. For example, one website made the bold statement "George Bush blew up the 9-11 World Trade Towers". I was laughing by the time I finished the article. What the article didn't mention however, was that Popular Mechanics, a famous magazine that reports about new engineering and technological inventions, has published a book DISCREDITING all of the different 9-11 conspiracy theories step by step. They did a perfect job of showing how none of the theories could possibly be correct, and they showed evidence from an engineering, technical, and structural point of view. But, I guess Popular Mechanics must be part of the conspiracy too? In fact, anyone who happens to disagree with the liberals' paranoid speculations must be part of the conspiracy, right? More information disproving the 9-11 conspiracy theories can be found here.

 

So these wild conspiracy theories also fall into the same category as rhetoric like: All the problems of the world can be blamed on the big governments and big corporations. One characteristic of an immature people is to criticize the leaders, but to offer no positive solution to the problem themselves. It is much easier just to blame the leaders (government and corporations) for all the problems of the world, but the reality is that this material world is a hellish place because of our exploitive mentality. Is anyone going to claim that their exploitive mentality is somehow any less than the exploitive mentality of the leader of a government or corporation?

 

Here is a quote from Srila Prabhupada, where he tells us that we shouldn't blame the government for our problems, since we are the ones who put them into power. In other words, he is saying that it is our own fault, not someone else's.

 

"Prabhupada: What is the use of this rascal government? The rascal government must be there because we are rascals. You cannot complain against the government. Because we select. It is the days of democracy. We elect our representative. So why you should, I mean to say, blame the government? You have created the government. You have sent your representative, a rascal, another big rascal. You are rascal, and another big rascal, you have voted; so how you can expect good government? You send only big rascals. That's all."

Mayapura lecture, 1973

 

Too often people are willing to blame everyone else for their problems, and they take no personal responsibility for their own life, blaming all of their problems on someone else (big government, big business, etc). A Vaisnava, on the other hand, is someone who instead of blaming someone else for their problems, takes personal responsibility for their own life and understands that the world is not perfect. Which perspective do you think fits in more with our Vaisnava philosophy?

 

So the question may be raised here- Didn’t Srila Prabhupada also speak about a conspiracy theory (the moon landing hoax)? No. What Srila Prabhupada said, was a scientific Vedic statement, according to the authority of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Because the moon is higher than the sun, it is literally impossible to have gone to the moon. It was simply a hoax. Srila Prabhupada exposed this hoax, with scientific knowledge from the Srimad-Bhagavatam.

 

Now, there is quite a world of difference between a scientific statement based on Vedic cosmology, and an irrational and paranoid conspiracy theory that has been proven wrong by scientific analysis (9-11 conspiracy theories).

 

Before we end the article, let’s take a quick look at the thought process of the conspiracy theorists. One symptom they exhibit is paranoia, thinking that the whole world is a big conspiracy theory, with Bush at the lead, and his goal is to enslave the human race. Need I say more?

 

Second symptom- delusions of grandeur. Conspiracy theorists think that by “exposing” the conspiracy, they can save the human race.

 

Third symptom- delusions of persecution. Conspiracy theorists think that the government is spying on them, listening to their phone calls, trying to oppress them, etc.

 

There could be many more symptoms described, but let’s leave it at that for now. Now, I didn’t study psychology is depth, only a brief study, but from that brief study, I learned enough to know that the above mentioned symptoms are symptoms of a mental illness called Paranoid Schizophrenia.

 

So I will end the article with a question- Are conspiracy theories and paranoid schizophrenia related?

 

(By the way, I am also part of the conspiracy. I work for the CIA, and have been hired to help discredit the conspiracy theories. I have to go soon, because a UFO is going to be coming down out of the clouds to pick me up and take me back to my home planet, Venus. It is all part of the illuminati conspiracy to enslave the human race and bring them to Venus to work as slaves and help mine the ore from the fields on Venus.)

[gHari]

Ha! He admits he's from Venus? Will we listen to an alien?

 

Neither the Martians nor the Venusians can be trusted. Everyone remembers Zoran, the planet that is now the asteroid belt ... the Martians never actually found weapons of mass destruction on Zoran.