Blogs

Live streaming kirtan from Red Hill. Starts at 5 pm AEST (UTC +10) Saturday.

Go here for live chat.

David Jorm and I caught up on the deck and shot a few video podcasts. Here's the first one - on the Global Economic Crisis.

The next one is about Evolution.

This post worked just as well when it was blank. People are dying every second. Every famous person will die. It's not really news.

By James West, original available here

I like Barack Obama. I like his sincerity, his thoughtfulness, his compassion, and his humanitarian priority. I like his calm resolve, and his humility. But I don’t think he’s going to succeed in staunching the hemorrhaging of the global economy that is now approaching all published definitions of “depression”.

Its not because of any shortcoming in his intellect, or leadership skills. It’s the fallible nature of the political system upon which the United States now runs, which shows a public democratic puppet government to the public, manipulated by a more powerful, malevolent, and loosely affiliated elite financial interest group of mixed national origin.

Just as giant collapsed stars billions of light years distant are discerned by their effect on more observable phenomena, this shadowy world can’t be pinned down by name or definition, because the casual nature of their association is key to their omnipotence. Its not that the leadership of Barack Obama is incapable – it’s the fact that such leadership is undermined at every turn when the public interests run contrary to those of this invisible cabal.

The scantly reported story on Bloomberg last week of two Japanese nationals arrested while trying to enter Switzerland with suitcases laden with US$134 billion worth of U.S. Treasury Bonds [article] is just the kind of event that causes just enough of a ripple in the dense fabric of media space to be discerned by astute observers as evidence of that top layer of colluders.

This class of humanity is our most dire threat. These are people who feel entitled to consume ten times the amount of real estate, fuels and fine foods than the rest of us, logging thousands of luxury air miles each year and contributing a similarly disproportionate effluent to befoul our collective ecology.

While the average citizen labors longer for less gain amidst the confounding distraction of endless marketing and unsustainable credit booby traps, these Nobs jet about from summer house up north to winter house down south, and east to west, as the fancy takes them.

This is not a rant against the rich. The rich are among the upper echelons of the average citizen on a global basis, and can be defined as those who have a house, sanitary plumbing, and a car at their disposal, compared to the vast majority of invisible starving in third world countries.

This is an indictment of the so-called leadership, who jets around as do the financial elite in the rarified air of the Entitled.

The alleged goal of globalization, at least if the superficial tag lines are to be believed, is to elevate the standards of living for all. What the tagline can’t reveal, and what the economists who are tenured to the service of globalized corporate and government interests fail to convey, is that the resource base of the world cannot support anything approaching the utopian standard of living touted by that lot.

Never mind Peak Oil…there’s ten times the amount of fossil fuels available in coal and gas than has been consumed since the industrial revolution still locked up in the earth. Not that extracting them and burning them are going to do us any favors in the long term.

More pointedly, what about Peak Seafood? We’ve already surpassed that, and there is no alternative. The threat of extinction for cod, sea bass, certain species of tuna, salmon, and other important economic fisheries imply a systemic degradation of the entire pelagic food chain that is inextricably entwined with the terrestrial one. Unfortunately, economics takes a decidedly non-holistic view of resource allocation, and we measure positivity only in terms of quarterly perpetual growth. The depletion of resources, the degradation of ecosystems, and the demise of indigenous cultures and peoples are all Page 9 material for the civilized world thoroughly enchanted with the love affairs of vapid pop and movie stars, themselves prodigious consumers of drugs, booze, food and air miles.

The existing so-called leadership in the developed world are employed in maintaining our obsession with the inane, so that they can aid and abet the fraudulent looting of the world by this top untouchable social layer.

Barack sets the poor example of conspicuous consumption he is thereby destined to serve through his perpetual peregrinations in Air Force One, distracting the attention of the populace from the pillaging underway by appearing to be required in the affairs of the Middle East and elsewhere.

Such disingenuousness is apparent to the growing throngs of American unemployed, and acts of civil warfare are on the rise, as desperate people resort to theft and violence to express their diminishing options for sustenance.

A couple of layers up the social food chain from workers and the unemployed, regulators reflect the absence of leadership through the ineffectual and patently corrupt stewardship of financial institutions as evidenced by the massive shorting that preceded by a long time the advent of bad news that could justify the impending demise of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers.

No investigation into that phenomena has materialized, and the destruction of faith in the natural influences of commodities versus commodities and the cost of capital unfolds on a daily basis in the rampant manipulation of gold, silver, oil and currency markets.

The fact that the Fed buys the Treasuries that are the source of its operating capital has now been enshrined in the daily Theatre of the Absurd that our financial system has become. It now is as regular a headline as who is likely to get voted off of Survivor or win the next American Idol.

Humanity now teeters on the brink of an accelerated extinction brought about by the total absence of leadership in terms of sustainable lifestyles and the equitable treatment. Worse, our leadership, as it exists, sets the unfortunate race to extinction by leading us in fraud, consumption, corruption and duplicity.

In that sad reality, its really not so much the absence of leadership that is terminal for humanity, so much as it is the enthusiastic leadership in the horribly wrong direction.

John Maynard Keynes, the pet economist of presidents and governments throughout the world, and the father of deficit government spending, famously intoned, "In the long run, we are all dead." It is the definition of 'long run' that remains a variable that could mean another 50 years, or another ten thousand. The difference will be determined by the strength of our leadership, or absence thereof.

James West
www.MidasLetter.com

My Commentary:

There are a number of good points in this article. The piece about the $134 billion in Treasury bonds (the GDP of New Zealand in a couple of suitcases) is particularly interesting. You can read more details here. That site questions whether the official story that the bonds were "fake" is true, or just a cover-up. This site presents things in a way that is more sympathetic to the official story. This site has photos of the bonds in the Italian police station.

The fact that there were not held and charged does indicate that the bonds were real. However, the standard of reporting on these sites is not good. Assertions are made, but no citations are given. These "statements of fact" cannot be accepted. The Financial Times of London reports that the two men were released. However, it is quoting an Italian blog that quotes a police commander.

The fact that hard facts on this story are hard to come by does suggest that it is being swept under the carpet.

Leaving that aside...

Another good point is his point that globalization (equal standard of living for everyone) and sustainability are fundamentally incompatible goals. I have been making this point for some time now. I am actually perplexed how people can harmonize the two ideas in their heads. See my articles about "nuking the Chinese" [this one for example] for more exposition on this untenable dilemma.

The idea that the current global leadership is either distracting people from the real issues or actively leading them in the wrong direction is one that I've explored previously, as is the idea that it is not a "homogenous conspiracy", but that there are multiple layers of leadership with different motivations and different perspectives on the situation. You can see this idea explored in my 2006 article "What's Really Going On?".

All-in-all, I think this is a very thought-provoking piece that raises interesting questions and avenues of investigation. It is not prescriptive, in that it does not advocate a particular course of action in response, but rather descriptive in that it describes the contemporary mundane situation, or at least some aspects of it.

In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Viṣṇu, and blessed them by saying, "Be thou happy by this yajña [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you everything desirable for living happily and achieving liberation." The demigods, being pleased by sacrifices, will also please you, and thus, by cooperation between men and demigods, prosperity will reign for all. In charge of the various necessities of life, the demigods, being satisfied by the performance of yajña [sacrifice], will supply all necessities to you. But he who enjoys such gifts without offering them to the demigods in return is certainly a thief.

- Bhagavad-gita 3.10-12

I am in everyone's heart as the Supersoul. As soon as one desires to worship some demigod, I make his faith steady so that he can devote himself to that particular deity. Endowed with such a faith, he endeavors to worship a particular demigod and obtains his desires. But in actuality these benefits are bestowed by Me alone.

- Bhagavad-gita 7.21-22

Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kuntī, but they do so in a wrong way.

- Bhagavad-gita 9.23

Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.

- Bhagavad-gita 18.66

My Commentary:

This may be understood as the stages of evolution of an individual through progressive levels of realization in one lifetime or over a number of lifetimes; as the stages of evolution of religious/metaphysical thought of a culture over many generations; or as the evolution of an idea in Sri Krishna's exposition in Bhagavad-gita.

Initially Krishna tells Arjuna, and the more general audience of humanity, to worship the demigods in order to achieve the necessities of life. This is directed at those whose concept of the self is firmly rooted in the body, and whose concept of existence is limited to the phenomenal world and the duration of time between birth and death. For those people they should practice some religious faith which relates to this conception of reality.

Krishna then explains that he gives them this faith, so that they may practice this religion. Therefore this religion is not to be dismissed or dismantled. It is always necessary and beneficial for these people.

However, Krishna also explains that ultimately He is behind this idea or reality of the demigods. The demigods are not an ultimate reality, therefore whether or not they exist in an objective sense is an immaterial debate, as their existence is not concrete: "Whatever exists does not change, and whatever changes does not really exist." (Bhagavad-gita 2.16).

Krishna then goes on to condemn the idea of demigod worship, or rather to extend it by revealing this flaw. The demigods are not real (in the sense of the definition given in Bg.2.16). The Supreme Absolute Truth, Sri Krishna, is.

Finally Krishna gives the ultimate recommendation: to abandon all varieties of religion and simply surrender directly to the Supreme Lord.

Individually and collectively, living entities pass through the different stages of evolution demonstrated by the evolution of this idea in Bhagavad-gita. Worship of the demigods is encouraged (by Sri Krishna and by a culture based on the principles He outlines in Bhagavad-gita) for the faithless. And further development of their faith and understanding from that point is a natural stage of spiritual evolution.

C.S. Lewis recognized polytheism as a favorable spiritual development toward ultimate realization. [citation needed] I read that an article about him somewhere (not his wikipedia entry, it seems), then re-read his book from the Chronicles of Narnia "The Horse and His Boy" [wikipedia]. While a metaphor for Christian monotheism, in Lewis' book Aslan (who represents God) commands a prince from an Eastern land to return to his kingdom and stand in the temple of Tash (their local Deity) "before the altar at the time of the autumn feast". Aslan then commands him to live within a ten mile radius of the temple and not leave it (otherwise he will be turned into a donkey).

Through this, Lewis recognizes that each person must worship according to the faith they have, but not be so zealous as to impose that faith on others through force. Worshiping Tash is good for the prince, but the combination of this faith with his war-mongering nature is not good.

My earlier commentary on Evolutionary theory, posted here and as a comment on Dandavats garnered some response. On Facebook I got one comment and hooked up with one person who has a similar perspective, which is encouraging.

On Dandavats, however, there has been no response.

On another website, which shall remain nameless, a standard reply to no response is: "Your failure to rise to our challenge proves that we are right! Your silence is acceptance of your guilt! Why is no-one stepping forward to speak to this? Where are all the big leaders?"

But of course, the lack of a reply doesn't always mean that your logic is so tight, your arguments so on the money and irrefutable that everyone is cowering in the darkness, hiding from the light of righteousness shining from the torch you, the hero, are holding aloft. Sometimes it just means that you're a dick.

However, it's hard to tell whether the silence on Dandavats is because no-one who reads Dandavats thinks that the comment is worthy of a response, or because there is a dark conspiracy, lead by "elements within the leadership of ISKCON"*, to suppress all discussion of evolutionary theory by the membership of ISKCON.

The Dandavats' commentary censorship policy, undocumented officially but observed in action by several people, including myself, does lend itself to a juicy conspiratorial interpretation, complete with shadowy hooded figure tapping finger tips together and intoning: "Excellent!".

Several comments that people have made to me on Facebook point to such a conspiracy as well.

I'll leave you to discuss this amongst yourselves. If a source on the inside wants to give an anonymous tip off, leave a comment or send me an email.

I'll write Praghosa prabhu, the editor of Dandavats to see why my comment sank like a stone.

Meanwhile, check out this short clip that aired on ABC Counterpoint:

David Aaronovitch throws cold water on some of the more crazy ideas getting around and asks why have conspiracy theories become such a part of modern life? Are they just a bit of harmless fun or is there something more sinister and damaging about them?

- Conspiracy Theories - Counterpoint - 8 June 2009 (audio)

* I put "elements in the leadership of ISKCON" in quotes because for me the leadership of ISKCON rests with people who I find inspiring and whose example I emulate. In the interest of constructing an entertaining conspiracy narrative, however, here we are using the classic "the guys who control everything, like the ISKCON Illuminati" definition that is in common use.

Is there such a thing as a good cult? -- Christopher Glass

Great question. It is one I used to pose in my Mind Control course at Stanford University, going one step further and inviting students to design such a cult. Many cults start off with high ideals that get corrupted by leaders or their board of advisors who become power-hungry and dominate and control members' lives. No group with high ideals starts off as a "cult"; they become one when their errant ways are exposed. A good cult delivers on its promises. A good cult nourishes the needs of its members, has transparency and integrity, and creates provisions for challenging its leadership openly. A good cult expands the freedoms and well-being of its members rather than limits them.

Philip Zimbardo, Psychologist and TED presenter

My comment: Interesting.

Kirtan at Fusion Hot Yoga
Friday July 3, 2009
7.30 pm

Thanks to Bhakticandrika dd for the poster design. If you're viewing it on the atmayogi.com homepage, give it a click to see the whole thing.

On Friday July 3 join us at Fusion Hot Yoga for an evening of ecstasy with the World Sankirtan Party serving us earthy music and sacred chant.

Fusion teachers Josh and Jolie are part of the World Sankirtan Party, a world music band that sing sacred Sanskrit mantras in an interactive call-and-response fashion (kirtan). Free your voice and the rest will follow! The evening will be equal parts meditative, relaxing, and shake-your-booty funky, as befitting the Fusion vibe.

The evening kicks off at 7.30 pm after the last class on Friday, and light refreshments will be served. We are asking for a $10 collaboration for the event. The money collected is going towards bringing over Gaura Vani, a kirtan artist from the US, who will be bringing his kirtan party over later in the year.

Here are the deets:

World Sankirtan Party kirtan concert
Where: Fusion Hot Yoga
219 Wynnum Road, Norman Park
Brisbane, Australia

When: Friday July 3, 2009
7.30 pm