All Comments By mbj
On Dec 3, 2013 mbj wrote on Indulge an Attachment, by Roger Walsh:
There's a story I like about Sri Aurobindo. A sadak who apparently disapproved of his smoking habit asked him, "Why are you so attached to smoking?" Mr. A replied, "Why are you so attached to my not smoking?" Funny guy, that Aurobindo.
On Sep 26, 2009 Mark wrote on If You Really Pay Attention, by Paula Underwood:
This is B.S...I'm sure you all think dolphins are smarter or more evolved than humans too. Jeesh. Reality...live it.
On Sep 6, 2007 mbj wrote on The Danger of Service Without Spirituality, by Meher Baba:
SC:
Leave it to the ever-quotable Swami V to come up with a comment favoring religious propagation that I could get behind.
This requires a little explanation.
The only thing I hate more than religion is religious intolerance. I say this without the irony that gives the line its pleasing comical tenor. I mean it. It is the curse of liberalism.
I would be quite happy – and I think the world would be a better place – if everyone lost interest in religion, and it all just atrophied away. This, of course, will never happen. So since there will always be religion, I am forced into a more realistic fallback position that is as principled as its core as it is pragmatic in its genesis.
Mr. Jiva-is-Shiva’s one-religion-per person plan would accomplish both my ideals. It would represent the absolute obsolescence of religion as well as a manifestation of perfect tolerance and interpersonal harmony.
You may say that Swami Vivekananda, John Lennon, and I are dreamers (but we’re not the only ones). Imagine.
MBJ
Leave it to the ever-quotable Swami V to come up with a comment favoring religious propagation that I could get behind.
This requires a little explanation.
The only thing I hate more than religion is religious intolerance. I say this without the irony that gives the line its pleasing comical tenor. I mean it. It is the curse of liberalism.
I would be quite happy – and I think the world would be a better place – if everyone lost interest in religion, and it all just atrophied away. This, of course, will never happen. So since there will always be religion, I am forced into a more realistic fallback position that is as principled as its core as it is pragmatic in its genesis.
Mr. Jiva-is-Shiva’s one-religion-per person plan would accomplish both my ideals. It would represent the absolute obsolescence of religion as well as a manifestation of perfect tolerance and interpersonal harmony.
You may say that Swami Vivekananda, John Lennon, and I are dreamers (but we’re not the only ones). Imagine.
MBJ
On Sep 5, 2007 mbj wrote on The Danger of Service Without Spirituality, by Meher Baba:
SC:
The point you make about the frequently meaningless usage of the term spiritualism is a good one. I tried to make the same argument in my short essay “Rejecting Spiritualism.”
The points you make about me are less legitimate. First, please don’t mistake a well-voiced opinion with being “really upset.” When a notion like that of Meher Baba is not only narrow-minded, but also offensive, it strikes me as appropriate to say so in no uncertain terms. This is particularly important since there is some subtlety to the odiousness of Meher Babas dissertation and because it fits into a standard trope of bigotry which spiritual seekers often fail to appreciate. Don’t worry about my feelings, which I assure you are quite in tact.
Second, I am reasonably well-acquainted with Meher Baba’s conceptions of spirituality, though I confess to be more troubled than he was by the apparent contradiction between his adherence to the oneness-of-god-in-everything metaphysics and his declaration that he was an avatar and direct descendant of God. (I guess when you manage to convince a bunch of folks that you are The Man, little things like philosophical coherence don’t seem to matter as much. And if you aren’t talking, the faithful might assume that you could have explained stuff, had you wanted to.)
MBJ
On Sep 4, 2007 mbj wrote on The Danger of Service Without Spirituality, by Meher Baba:
What insulting crap! I was tempted to write a detailed reply to this arrogant, insipid, self-righteous garbage; but it really is not worth the effort. The spiritual vacuity of a guy who suggests that spiritualism is the only effective meta-ethics is as self-evident as it is offensive and ironic.
On Oct 20, 2014 mbj wrote on Conscious Simplicity, by Duane Elgin:
Bernardo Paz, creator of the halcyon art complex and socially transformation experiment, Inhotim, was asked; how do you envision post-contemporary society? He replied: "Like going to your grandmother's house, only with technology."