Theos-Talk Archives (May 1995 Message tl00042)

Dear Keith,

A lot of the science you talk about is beyond me. So I'm not
going to comment on that. But I do need to comment on 2 other
points you make.

I consider myself a Karma Yoga person, but I don't act out of
fear. That's much too negative a motivator. I enjoy being
active, & reacting with other people, & I'd rather be doing that
than sitting meditating for peace in the world for long
stretches, although I do that too occasionally for a short while.
I'd rather act to try to bring preace, at least locally. Now if
you want to say that I'm trying to bring peace because I'm afraid
of fighting, well, I guess you're right there, or maybe it's not
exactly being afraid, it's rather having had the fighting
experience I try for something better. I'll fight, if I have to,
but I'd rather not, because I find a different route more
productive.

I don't understand why you think the gift of freedom & knowledge
brought guilt. If it did that, it would be a misuse of the gift.
I know that we're perhaps just coming out of millenia where
ruling classes, be they priest or king, tried to keep the
ordinary citizens in line by laying a guilt trip on them.
"Religion" is the opium of the masses". Be a real good, obedient
little worshipper now, & you'll get your harp put right next to
God's great toe. Meantime, be a good little sinner & give me
some money so I can put a gold dome on my little church, then you
can see how beautiful I am when you come to worship here.

If on the other hand, you were a Seigneur in medieval France, you
owned all the people who lived & worked in your fiefdom. Most of
what their farm work produced came to you, & when one of the men
got married, you got to sleeping with the bride before he could.
It was very difficult to get out of this arrangement, because if
a serf ran away, the Seigneur could have him locked up. After a
while, towns came into being, & the burghers had it a bit better.

To come to modern days, have you ever gone into a store, & the
sales clerk handed you the wrong thing. When you try to point
out to her that this isn't what you wanted, she's been brought up
to feel so guilty about her actions (I think, because she's more
tractable that way), that she has to pin the error on you. I
don't call this freedon & knowledge, but rather the kind of
slavery & ignorance theosophy tries to free us from.

Namaste

Liesel