1-A Lesson From India

Who Are WE in the WEST? . . . And in America?

PART ONE 

It is sometimes joked or asserted that there is no advanced or worthwhile “culture” or even “civilization” in the West. . . . And if there was, it has to GO!

Hi Ho, Western Civ has Got to Go!

Are you old enough to remember that one? It was from (we are told) the radical students during the Big Revolt against American military intervention in places like Vietnam.

The idea was that the United States was created by a bunch of old, dead, irrelevant white guys whose ideas were outdated and in need of replacement. The message: there was nothing good about America, and the entire system needed to be dismantled – by violence if necessary.

Barely Civilized Irrelevance?

What characteristics of a civilization the West retains is often associated with shopping malls, TeeVee, sports games, pornography, beer, boob jobs, and other superfluous activities that have no really deeper meaning in life. (Sorry, sports fans!)

While the details of how this happened in America will be saved for my other main website — AmericanYogi.us — the short story is that there was/is a very positive historical culture in the West and America, and in very many ways a very advanced civilization. But something happened along the way. …

We have been substantially deprived of
knowledge of that rich heritage

If you ask the average person on the street in the United States to describe the insights, characteristics and principles that made Western Civilization a positive contribution to the advancement of world-wide humanity, few will be able to do so. … Many will say we’ve been counterproductive, and are in a steep decline, even a blight upon the earth.

So, how did all THAT happen?

A Lesson from Ancient India

You might be familiar with what history tells us happened in India many millennia ago.

As far as we can tell, the so-called Aryan Race came into the general area we now call India and was able to take over most important aspects of life. The Aryans set up a kind of government that is characteristic of ALL governments in known history. Integral to that governmental system was a set of beliefs that constituted a religion.

The Priest-HOOD . . .  or the Priest-CRAFT? . . .
The Manipulation of Karma 

(NO, I am NOT one of those people who knock or belittle religion in total. But it depends on who is running that religion: the Priesthood, or the Priestcraft. These are terms used to indicate the Light and the Dark; the Spiritual Teachers who are Seekers of Truth, versus those who are seeking power and control over other human beings.)

The political powers and priest-CRAFT of the Aryans set up a system – the Caste system – that was supposedly based on deep religious insights into the nature of Cosmic Reality and human existence. In short, this system caused most of the Indian people to believe that, because of such Cosmic Forces, they were born into a certain level or status in life, and that it was their Spiritual Karma to have been placed there. And it was their own past actions in previous lifetimes that caused them to be born into what ever status they were now in.

Your Karma Is Your OWN Darn Fault . . .

If you look behind the psychological scenes here, what that REALLY meant was to make people believe it was their OWN DARN FAULT that they were born into that Caste in society. They were GUILTY of whatever it is they did to put them there, even though (conveniently, because it was a past life) they could not remember it.

And the Real Kicker: To even THINK about getting above your caste was in itself Bad Karma! … WOW … What a system! One of the most primary human drives is to better one’s self. That’s a primary focus of many people’s attention. … No wonder they had to learn how to still their thoughts!

But next time you’re hanging out with a psychological and guerilla warfare expert, (which I have, a LOT) ask them about this:

A common tool of political rulers and the priestcraft is to use guilt to manipulate people into believing what they are being told by their superiors and therefore they will voluntarily self-discipline themselves, going along with everything else they are told by their rulers.

YOU Can NOT Move To A Higher Class . . .
But WE Are Already There, So WE Can Profit From YOUR Labor!

To top it off, they were further taught — by their religious teachers, no less — that any efforts to elevate their-selves from that status would be a violation of their Karma, and would actually set them back the next time around. They might even come back as a roach or something.

What this ingenious system did was to create a process whereby the political and religious Rulers were able to rake off the surplus wealth (food, products, land … and the labor) from the peasant and middle classes and live a life of privilege, power and “profit.”*

(It was NOT truly “profit” because the word profit literally means to move ahead. And unless ALL of society, for the most part, is generally moving ahead, it is a trouble for ALL. And NO, I am NOT an egalitarian nor a socialist or collectivist. Those systems also prevent most people and societies from truly moving ahead in life.)

Most everyone else, for fear of a worse Karmic future, self-repressed themselves from trying to better themselves too much. Or at least not enough to break out of their particular Caste in life. The Power Elite — the Politicians, (the king, pharaoh, emperor types) and the Priestcraft (the perverters of spiritual truth) – got a better life. Everyone else was pretty much stuck. … Stuck on the ever-revolving, never-ending Wheel of Karma.

Holding Back Human Progress
Robbing the TRUE Profit 

So in India’s Caste system, for the most part, the only ones “moving ahead” were the Political and Religious Rulers and those who worked directly for them. The masses were relegated, with their own more-or-less voluntary cooperation, to NOT moving too far ahead, to NOT advancing too far in life, so most of society was held back — but by their very own belief system. . . .

It may be true that you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. . . .
But you can fool enough of them to run a large country.

. . . Dr. Will & Ariel Durant
Widely Respected Historians
Authors of The Story of Civilization

Please remember that distinction when people are using the term “profit” and examine what is really being said. Profit* in itself is a positive good, and absolutely necessary for society to advance. It is when a few individuals “profit” at the expense of most others that society is held back and, eventually, goes into decline.

(*In actuality, profit is the surplus, the extra beyond what it takes to survive, created by the labor of the people so they can build a better future. For example, without extra income beyond your monthly expenses, you cannot take a college course to get a better job.)

What Happened In India . . .
Happened HERE In America, Too . . .
Only the Details Are Different

NOW … for the Shocker … Though the superficial and technical details are much different, what happened in India to the common people over there long ago, happened, at the deeper levels, to most of us here in America, too, and NOT so long ago. … About a hundred years. The turning point date was December 23, 1913. Much happened for another hundred years prior to that date, but that was when our own United States Aryans got their way.

Those who would ”profit” at the expense of everyone else got their hands on the foundational wealth, on the rudder of Human Progress in America, and basically took us in a very different direction than would have occurred with a Spontaneous Order and Evolution of We The People.

Yet there were certain characteristics of Early Americans that made this far more difficult, so the Power Elite had to be far more sophisticated in their strategies and tactics. But for the most part, they succeeded. We as a Nation and as a People are paying the price for that success today … in spades.

So . . . What’s The Point?

I will attempt to show in the pages of this section of the DSL website — and in FAR more detail at www.AmericanYogi.us — that there is a vast tradition — especially spiritual (depending on how you define it) — that has not only been lost to us, but intentionally hidden. And that this spiritual tradition contains lessons that are directly and fully applicable to what is happening around and to us today. And that these things are nothing new.

Western & American Spirituality
with Lessons on Politics, Economics & Law
SHHH … The Bible

Even though many people today discount it, The Bible, especially the Old Testament, goes into great detail about how we got into this mess, and in pretty amazing detail, if you know what to look for. And no, these are NOT the Biblical Fairy Tales we’ve heard about. And it is almost exactly opposite of what our so-called Christian Right has been talking about. … You have to wonder how many of them ever actually read the darn thing.

But it is the kind of knowledge that our modern day equivalent to the Aryans in India did not and do not want you nor I to know about. The New Testament reinforces those teachings as well, just not as explicitly.

And yes, what we call meditation is in there too. But wouldn’t you know, someone long ago started retranslating the book in such a way as to completely cover it up. No, it’s no the more esoteric kind of meditation, but a more here and now, in-the-moment kind of thing.

(It was called Naphsha in the Ancient Aramaic, and I have a page on this website all about it.)

Most importantly, there are things WE The People can DO about it, if only we have the correct knowledge. And that there is a Western and American spirituality that does NOT require mysticism nor belief in the supernatural or special energies to work, (yet if you want to believe in such things, that’s perfectly okay, too). And this is not about the Fire & Brimstone of the End Times or a Rapture for a few, which are real stretches about what’s in there anyway.

Unfortunately, there is no Quick and Easy solution, because we have to undo about a hundred or more years of personal and public error. But history has shown that if we follow the more natural and spiritual ways of organizing human society, things could turn around much faster than if we pursue our current course.

. . . The Truth Shall Set You Free . . .

As yogis and yoga educators, we are there to help all people willing to learn to pull back the veil to their inner and outer existence, to see it at all levels. It’s about becoming more aware of what’s there, whether we like it or not.

And despite certain undeniable faults, ONE civilization created more Freedom, Peace and Prosperity for far more people than at any time in know history. (And those faults were primarily from not following it’s own principles.)

That civilization, or what’s left of it, is right here in America. … We can agree that it might have gotten off track, but there are some very good reasons why. And it’s not dead yet. There is still a pulse.

What amazes me is how many modern yoga teachers are concerned that the Ancient Yoga texts remain unknown and unread by most yoga students today. Yet how many of these same teachers are very familiar with the teachings on which America was founded?

The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth . . .
Is A MIS-Translation

The TEACHABLE Shall Inherit the Earth
from the Aramaic Translations 

If you stick with me and this website, I think you’ll begin to see that the artificial separation between Spirituality and economics, politics, law, social change, even the sciences, is indeed that, artificial. Yes, specialization in these fields is good and necessary, as long as we do not lose the over-arching, human context. Healing that split between, and re-integrating those areas of life is critical to restoring our ability to BE Fully Human, … And doing so is a fully Yogic endeavor. Just not the kind of yoga we’re used to from India.

OKAY . . . If You’re Still With Me, Click On Over to Part TWO . . .

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Thanks for Reading,
Take Care,
David Scott Lynn
DSL: Your Hi-Touch Up-Link to the Inner-Net