I have decided, as a bit of an intellectual and mediumship challenge,
to work through Lobsang Rampa’s books and give my take on some of the readers’
questions that Rampa answered. I’m doing this with the ultimate audience in the
back of my mind – me, in future incarnations.
So, this week, I have chosen a couple of questions from “Chapters of Life”, on page 197 (of
my copy, at any rate): what is Nirvana?
Well, apart from the band, who didn’t
exist when that book was published (first
pub. 1967; Corgi pub. 1972, ISBN 552 07652 X), when I was growing up, there
was a misconception that nirvana was nothingness. In fact, the original
question continued to ask “why Indians want to sit around and do nothing and
hope everything will come right for them in the end”.
So:
(1) Indians DON’T want to “sit around and do nothing and hope everything will come right for them in the end”: I know several, and they are hard working, industrious, family orientated people – and their nation is a complex, modern nation, with many challenges that only one other nation can have a clue about (China), but India is working through its problems in ways that are, generally, as democratically as possible – if you want to know more about the dynamism of India, follow the online version of “The Hindu” for a while.(2) my understanding of nirvana at that time was that it is “the absence of spiritual faults” – which is the line that Rampa takes. Interestingly, when I was a kid and still trying to make going to Anglican Churches work for me, I came across a point of view that heaven and hell were actually the same place, but one set of people was enjoying the situation, and the other set of people weren’t (a bit like having some unwilling attendees at a Nirvana concert :) ).(3) now, I would add that the concept of ““the absence of spiritual faults” is actually quite rubbery. In the same way that algebra is a major lesson for primary school kids, and calculus is the major lesson for University students, what constitutes a “fault” or a matter of good or bad significance spiritually does vary a little – the basics (don’t harm others, respect, compassion, etc) still apply, just as the basics of algebra, arithmetic, etc apply at the University level, but the perspective is different. In fact, I would go so far as to say that, having mentally gone through a digression that nirvana is actually perfecting one’s ability to learn, I’d have to say that nirvana is progressing as one should spiritually – just as, to warp the metaphor beyond reason, a primary student who is studying well and learning can have a personal sense of peace akin to that of a University student who is also studying and learning well, people in this physical realm can attain a state of nirvana, but when they continue to evolve and live in other realms, there are other states that would be the equivalent of nirvana there.
Wikipedia’s take on this topic is here.
On page 198, we have another question: Churches,
missionaries, occultists, they are all out for money, they are all grabbers,
everyone wants to take from we poor people who have to work for an honest
living. Now, you tell me, why should I give, why should I bother with this old
system of tithes? What's it going to do
for me?
Now, Rampa’s reply to this is along the lines of the benefits of being
generous – give, so that you may receive. To some extent, I can understand that
from an analysis of the microrunes * of Feoh/Fehu. To explain that, here is an
excerpt from the current version of a book I am working on about runes (I am confident it will be finished in the
next couple of decades or so, after I finish paying the price for being over-generous :) ):
If we look at Feoh / Fehu from the point of view of micro-runes, there are many ways to create this rune. Most commonly, this is shown as two upside-down alternate-Kenaz runes overlapping, and spaced slightly one above the other – see Figure No. 2. Viewed as such, it is easy enough to see that energy can be considered to be coming from energy – and hence “wealth breeds wealth”, in a sense, and all the problems that come with being wealthy (such as jealousy, family struggles for control of wealth, etc).
Figure No. 2 – traditional microrunic view of Feoh / FehuFrom the point of view of this review, I will consider Feoh / Fehu as two bind microrunes – again, laid one over the other, slightly overlapping, but this time, each bind microrune comprises Kenaz flowing out from Isa – see Figure No. 3.
Figure No. 3 – modified microrunic view of Feoh / FehuTo consider this version of the construction of Feoh / Fehu, consider first the image of a river being created by the melting of a glacier. As the ice is transformed, it becomes something which can – in the harsh Scandinavian and northern European world - give life by growing crops and giving water. That is all very straightforward, and understandable; the crops give sustenance for life, and so “wealth”, in a sense is created – true wealth, something which is of genuine value and use, rather than something such as gold, which is of no direct, life-giving value.When we have two glaciers, and two rivers, side by side, things can potentially still go well – or even better, but provided the water being created can flow away freely. If one river cannot get away, a flood may result, with potentially lots of damage and even loss of life.So … if things keep flowing, keep moving, thereby allowing room for more “wealth” to be created by this transformation, “wealth builds wealth”. If we attempt to hold on to something, we risk restricting this natural flow of energy, and the consequences may be dire.This analogy is not saying that the consequences of trying to hold on to “wealth” are due to karma: it is saying that the fundamental harm arises from the result of stopping the transformation or flow which creates something wealthy from something which may not be of value.Water from ice is one such transformation, but other transformations can be created from our effort, our skills, our hard work. In Middle Ages Europe, one such transformation would be to turn grass and water into meat and milk, by having, nurturing and growing a herd of cattle.
The other aspect of that is that being grasping and mean-minded makes
one mean of spirit: generosity can be a far nobler thing. The construction of
the question shows assumptions and perceptions that are not necessarily so: the
person has been blinded by their emotion.
Rampa also talks about sacrifice: the need to give something meaningful
in order to receive something meaningful. Pagans are generally aware of this –
it is art of the reason for offering libations to the Deities, for instance,
but goes beyond that. For instance, if you want to learn, what time and effort
are you going to “sacrifice” to study? According to the mythology, Woden
sacrificed an eye and the pain of being hung in the World tree in order to
obtain knowledge of the runes.
Those are all valid aspects, but there is another aspect to this:
learning to be an adult, or to stand up for oneself, to not be gullible. Generosity
to the point that it seriously hurts the giver (which is a lesson I am slowly learning in this life – particularly with
regard to money) is not true generosity, but more akin to buying favours.
It doesn’t do the giver good, and it possibly allows the recipient to continue
in the errors of their ways.
More questions will come from time to time, but I’ll finish this off
with a topic I’ve been working on, but it isn’t enough to justify a separate
post.
Platitudes
At times I wonder if there is anything as annoying as a platitude (the answer, incidentally, is yes – and many
are worse, far, far, FAR worse – for instance, obliviousness as to the effect
one has on those about oneself, bludging off others [being a modern day Marie Antoinette,
in other words], and so on). Spiritually speaking, platitudes are the equivalent of the sort
of thing one says to a fractious child – something to soothe and distract,
rather than give a realistic hope of a solution. “We’ll work something out.”
Yes? What, exactly? Let’s have some details – or, at the least, a clear
demonstration that you understand the problem.
One a more positive note, I’ve been re-reading “The Glass Bead Game”, by Nobel Prize winner, Herman Hesse, and
I’ve come across a few things that are, in my opinion, worth thinking about –
or even meditating upon (but not
necessarily agreeing with :) ):
Such instinctive and violent inclinations
and disinclinations are signs by which you can recognise the pettier souls. In
great souls and superior minds, these passions are not found.
“The Glass Bead Game”, Herman Hesse
and
Truth is Lived, not taught.
“The Glass Bead Game”, Herman Hesse
Here are a few other sayings that I am currently contemplating adding
to my signature block (maybe that should be … signature post at the end of
every post!):
The problems of the world cannot possibly
be solved by sceptics or cynics, whose horizons are limited by the obvious
realities. We need [people] who can dream of things that never were, and ask
why not.
John F. Kennedy
Choosing blankets on appearance or custom
rather than temperature is a vanity that may result in being too hot or too cold.
Gnwmythr
Gnwmythr
* that is, from the perspective of how each rune has been built up from Isa and Kenaz
[2] Please
see here, here and my post "The
Death of Wikipedia" for the reasons
I now recommend caution when using Wikipedia. I'm also exploring use of h2g2,
although that doesn't appear to be as extensive (h2g2 is intended - rather
engagingly - to be the Earth edition of
"The
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy").
[3] I apologise for the formatting: it seems Blogger is
no longer as WYSIWYG as it used to be, and there are a lot of unwanted
changes to layout made upon publishing, so I often have to edit it immediately
after publishing to get the format as close to what I want as possible.
Love, light, hugs and blessings
(pronounced "new-MYTH-ear"; ... aka Bellatrix
Lux … aka Morinehtar … would-be drýicgan or maga
... )
My "blogiography" (list of all posts and guide as to how to best use this
site) is here, and my glossary/index is here.
I started this blog to cover karmic regression-rescue
(see here and here), and it grew ... See here for my group mind project, here and here for my "Pagans for Peace" project (and join me
for a few minutes at some time between 8 and 11 PM on Sunday, wherever you are,
to meditate-clear for peace), and here
for my bindrune kit-bag. I also strongly recommend
learning how to flame, ground
and shield, do alternate
nostril breathing, work
with colour, and see also here and be
flexible.
- Neither eloquence nor inarticulateness inherently indicates correctness, but, as words can kill, the right to freedom of speech comes with a DUTY to be as well-informed, objective and balanced as you can be.
- Gnwmythr's Stropping Strap: Occam's Razor only works if the simplest solution is actually recognised as being the simplest, rather than the one that best fits one's bigotries being labelled 'simplest'.
- I mourn the desecration of the term 'Light Worker' by commercial interests, and the warping of the word 'Light' away from 'Clear Light' by the "(Fluffy) White Lighters".
- Presuming that everyone has, or wants, a smartphone is discriminatory, unspiritual, and downright stupid.
- Obsessive love may be a cover up of guilt.
- Proxy embarrassment is both a form of control, and an internal barrier to truth, honesty and perspicacity.
- Our entire life experience, with all the many wondrous and varied people, places and events in it, is too small a sample for statistical reliability about Life.
- Notwithstanding the greatness of exploring the world and humanity, the greatest exploration is of mind, spirit and Soul.
- May the world of commerce and business be recognised to be a servant, not a master, of the lives of people.
- Life is not a struggle for status.
- Being accustomed to interacting via certain rules makes those rules neither right nor universal.
- Like fire to the physical, emotions to the soul make a good servant, and a bad master.
- The means shape the end.
- My favourite action movie of all time is "Gandhi", although I've recently come across "Invictus" and might put that one in to that category. However, I loathe the stereotypical action movie - and, for similar reasons, I loathe many dramas, which are often emotionally violent, more so in some cases than many war films.
- All of the above - and this blog - could be wrong, or subject to context, perspective, or state of spiritual evolution ... and blogging has been described as graffiti with punctuation :)
Human dignity is
the inherently cumulative holistic
combination of human rights, wellbeing and potential, and all actions or
interaction which promote, realise or facilitate same. The converse also
applies: whatever degrades, diminishes or robs humans of dignity, is inherently
undignified.
Gnwmythr
The “purpose” of spiritual evolution is not
the attainment of “spiritual perfection” - not in the sense of not having to
evolve further, at any rate, since there is no such thing. We need to evolve in
order to grow - but we can take rest breaks (hopefully well earned :) ) along the way. No, the “purpose” of evolution is,
rather, to perfect our ability to learn, and thus grow.
Gnwmythr
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice
everywhere.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Females, get over 'cute'. Get competent.
Get trained. Get capable. Get over 'cute'. And those of you who are called
Patty and Debby and Suzy, get over that. Because we use those names to
infantalise females – we keep females in their 'little girl' state by the names
we use for them. Get over it. If you want to be taken seriously, get serious.
Jane Elliott
The only thing necessary for the triumph of
evil is for good [people] to do nothing.
(based on
writing by) Edmund Burke
We didn't inherit the Earth from our
ancestors, we only borrowed it from our children
Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
There are risks and costs to a program of
action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of
comfortable inaction.
John F. Kennedy
Tags: Feoh/Fehu, generosity, meanness, microrunes, platitudes, questions, quotations, runes, sacrifice,
First published: Wodansdagr, 29th April, 2015
Last edited (excluding fixing typo's
and other minor matters): Wednesday, 29th April, 2015
