When we look back, from our 21st century perspective, on the societies of the past, such as those of the Roman Empire or the Medieval Ages, we shudder at the things that were acceptable in those times.
Slavery, public torture and executions, gratuitous cruelty to animals done in the name of entertainment, exhibiting ill people as fun objects.
Incredulously, we ask, how could they have been so blind to such fundamental and obvious truths as that all people are created equal, that inflicting needless pain on other living beings is never justifiable, that sickness, whether of a physical or mental kind, needs to be treated with compassion and looked after.
Of course, some individuals in those past societies would have been opposed to those practices and held more enlightened views, but the Collective Consciousness of those communities saw nothing wrong with these actions and beliefs.
My question is how would our modern Western Civilisation appear five hundred, one thousand, two thousand years from now?
When those people of the future look back on our society and our beliefs, what would they think and what would they shudder at? What truths, that will be self-evident and fundamental to them, are we blind to?
Of course one can argue back and say that our society is in possession of all the truths, but surely that is an impossibly superior and insupportable position to hold.
Note that what I am asking is which fundamental truths we as a society as a whole are missing out on or have not accepted yet as being a fundamental truth.
Obviously there would be the more enlightened members of our community who do realise that we are blind to these truths, but these truths have not yet established themselves within our Collective Consciousness.
Consequently, just like the majority of the Ancient Rome citizens were either indifferent to or supported slavery and public torture, so are we indifferent to these truths not being put into practice or, indeed, if their very antithesis is put into practice.
(I'm the resident philosopher of a spiritual community here in Melbourne, Australia and my pieces get read out at the public programs there by Swami Shankarananda.
This particular piece was read out on 19 August 2006 and you can listen to it on this link satsung_190806.mp3
The website of this spiritual community is: http://www.shivayoga.org )
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Comments: 6
The email I just sent you about my stream of thought from this morning is one of the fundamental truths that I believe the future residents of this planet could clearly see if they looked back at this era.
It is the conspiracy of the elite against the majority.
IT IS PLAIN AS THE NOSE ON MY FACE TO ME, YET THERE ARE FEW THAT SEE IT TODAY.
Yet in reality, this is still going on. Humanity has just gotten better at hiding it, moreso and much more sinister, has found other ways to make an abominable act seem acceptable in the public eye.
Nothing has changed. As a matter of fact, it has gotten quite worse.
What does that aha moment mean?
Of course we will have varied opinions here.
There is a creator and He created us for His pleasure. His pleasure is to love us and be loved by us; and to transform us into the creatures we were created to be as we submit to Him. There is purpose to this life.
Their opinion of the way we are today? It will depend on whether or not they know God.
Politically? That would take more words than you are expecting :) Men are self serving unless they are choosing to live for a higher purpose. No matter which way gov't goes, there will be problems to overcome.
Power corrupts ... The gov't is taking more and more power. It will corrupt more and more if only in ignorance. We, as individuals, are losing our freedoms. Gov't will continue to morph. People will continue to make individual decisions on the way they live their life under whatever type of gov't is ruling.
What choice is there in govt other than socialism or chaos. And then starting all over again? I assume we'll slowly keep escalating in one direction or the other. Hopefully not but ... ?? It is a good question. It made me think. Hmmm ... I sound like a pessimist. :)