Awake

-Are you a God?
- they asked the Buddha.
- No.
- Are you an angel, then?
- No.
- A saint?
- No.
- Then what are you?
-
I am AWAKE.



Einstein

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure of
the universe"-Albert Einstein-


Om Mani Padme Hum

Matthew 25:40

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Matthew 7 1-6


1. Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4. Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5. Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
6. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Significance of Aurobindo Ghose Jayanti by V. N. Gopalakrishnan From Tatva Magazine

Here is an article about a very important man in Indian hustory.  Not as well known as the Mahatma perhaps, but just as important in the ultimate withdrawal of the British, in my opinion. I suggest that reading his work would be of benefit.

Lee Murray

Sri Aurobindo Ghose (1872-1950) was a multifaceted personality-a great scholar, litterateur, philosopher, patriot, social reformer and above all a visionary. His 138th birth anniversary was celebrated on the 15th of August, which coincided with India’s Independence Day. India attained independence on the same day 75 years after his birth in 1872. In a message on the Independent Day, he said: “I take this coincidence, not as a fortuitous accident, but as the sanction and seal of the Divine Force that guides my steps on the work with which I began life, the beginning of its full fruition.”


Sri Aurobindo has originated the philosophy of cosmic salvation through spiritual evolution. According to his theory, the paths to union with Brahma are two-way channels: Enlightenment comes from above (thesis), while the spiritual mind strives through Yogic illumination to reach upward from below (antithesis). When these two forces blend, a gnostic individual is created (synthesis). This yogic illumination transcends both reason and intuition and eventually leads to the freeing of the individual from the bonds of individuality, and by extension, all mankind will eventually achieve liberation (moksha). Thus he created a dialectic mode of salvation not only for the individual but for all mankind.
“Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy is based on facts, experience and personal realisation. His spirituality was inseparably united with reason. His goal was not merely the liberation of the individual from the chain that fetters him and realization of the self, but to work out the will of the Divine in the world, to effect a spiritual transformation and to bring down the divine nature and a divine life into the mental, vital and physical nature and life of humanity”.
Sri Aurobindo spent his life working towards the cause of India’s freedom, and for further evolution of life on earth. He was one of the pioneers of political awakening in India and he openly advocated the boycott of British goods, British courts and everything British. He asked the people to prepare themselves for passive resistance. He embarked on a course of action to free India from the British Raj from 1902 to 1910. He was imprisoned in 1908 for his political activities and revolutionary literary efforts. Two years later, he fled British India and took refuge in the French colony of Pondicherry. There he founded an Ashram as an international cultural centre for spiritual development, attracting students from all over the world.
In 1914, he launched Arya, a monthly review which became the vehicle for most of his most important writings. He edited the English daily Vande Mataram and wrote fearless and pointed editorials. He also started the English weekly Dharma and spread his message: “Our ideal of Swaraj is absolute autonomy, absolute self-rule, free from foreign control”. He wrote a series of fiery articles in Induprakash under the title “New Lamps for Old”, strongly criticising the Indian National Congress for its moderate policy.
The basic objective of his teachings and writings was to increase the level of consciousness of people and make them aware about their true self. His literary works include the writings on varied subjects like the Indian culture, socio-political development of the country, spirituality etc. His Life Divine is, and will always remain, a force guiding the thoughts of men all over the world. His other works are: Essays on Gita, Ideal and Progress, Isa Upanishad, The Superman, Evolution, Heraclitus, The Ideal of the Karmayogin, The Brain of India, the Renaissance in India, Kalidasa, Vikramorvasi, The Riddle of This World, etc. Among students of English literature, Sri Aurobindo is mainly known for Savitri, a grand epic of 23,837 lines, the longest in the English language directing man towards the Supreme Being. Sri Aurobindo stated that the object of his study of the Gita “will not be as a scholastic or academic scrutiny of its thought, nor the place it in the history of metaphysical speculation but for help and light”.
Sri Aurobindo was born in Kolkatta on August 15, 1872 as the third child of Dr. Krishnadhan Ghose and Swamalata Devi. His education began in a Christian convent school in Darjeeling, and then, still a boy was sent to England for further schooling. He entered the University of Cambridge where he became proficient in two classical and three modern European languages. After returning to India in 1892, he took various administrative and professional jobs in Baroda and Kolkatta and later turned to his native culture and began the serious study of Yoga and Indian languages, including classical Sanskrit. Though he knew seven foreign languages, he could not speak his own mother tongue, Bengali. In 1901 Sri Aurobindo married Mrinalini Devi. During his 12 years of stay in Baroda he worked for India’s freedom, behind the scenes. In 1903 he went to Kashmir with the Maharaja of Baroda where on the Hills of Shankaracharya, he had a spiritual experience.
Sri Aurobindo fulfilled the glorious purpose of demonstrating to the world that real India, the India of the Vedic seers, could survive and absorb into herself all alien cultures and that at the hands of one who knew the proper synthesis, Eastern and Western cultures could find their happy blend, without necessarily having to antagonize one another. Sri Aurobindo felt that there was something unique in India’s capacity for spirituality and that Hinduism would answer to the spiritual needs of the whole world. For the Indians, he became, “the poet of patriotism, the prophet of nationalism and a lover of humanity”. He was described by Romain Rolland as “the complete synthesis that has been realised of the genius of Asia and of Europe”.


The author is a freelance journalist and social activist. He is also the Director of Indo-Gulf Consulting and can be contacted on telegulf@gmail.com

Monday, September 20, 2010

Latest Update on Mini-Stroke??? Ear Infection???

Well, today I went under the knife, so to speak. Not really under the knife, but in surgury and knocked out as I had a cerebrial angiogram.
My sisters drove me there as I'd been told I needed a ride home after the test. I arrived at University Hospital in Syracuse and checked in. I was about a half hour late as I went to the wrong hospital. Everybody was very nice. The doctor was Dr. Eric Deshaies.  Yes, I was nervous, and not looking forward to it at all. Got ready, answered questions and they inserted an IV then was wheeled on a gurney to the operating room. Everybody was very nice, and very professional. They hooked me up to wires and tubes, and started the anasthetic.
Dr. Deshaies came in said hi, and asked if I was ready. They left me laying there waiting for the anasthetic to kick in, he came over to the table and said I was going to feel a bee sting, I felt the needle as they gave me the local, and I said it felt more like a hornet sting, that got a laugh. They started doing whatever they were doing. I swear I was awake the whole time, but they told me when it was over and they were unhooking me that I'd been snoring. 
Dr. Deshaies showed me the pictures and told me that everything looked pretty good except one artery in the back had some narrowing, that he was going to examine closely and do some measurements, and would let me know if it needed work.
I was wheeled back to where I started, rested awhile, got dressed and was given a ride outside where my sister was parked and went home. I have to say it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it'd be.
Since getting home all I've done is sleep but they told me to expect that, that it'd take a day or so to get the anesthetic out of my system. I hope it turns out that the narrowing isn't so bad I need to go back, but if I do I feel confident that they'll do a great job then too.

Lee Murray

By the way the angiogram on the right is not me, it's just for illustration.

Write Up On Dr Deshaies

Friday, September 17, 2010

Lines from Movies That Tell the Truth

A few days ago I was watching a movie called A Face In The Crowd. It was I believe Andy Griffith's film debut. A movie about how power corrupts. He is a talented character, very down home on the outside, inside out for whatever he can get. Sound familiar? He starts out in jail for vagrancy, is given an opportunity to go on the radio, then gets a tv spot locally. Soon his audience is huge, and loves the down home good ole boy he seems to be, not knowing the reality. Soon he's promoting a Presidential cantidate, and his word can make or break, sound familiar?  The line I liked is actually a banner over the hall of a banquet it turns out nobody attends because that night the girl that got him started leaves the mike open while he talks as the credits roll, and the people watching hear the reality behind the character.
The line is: " There's nothing as trustworthy as the ordinary mind of the ordinary man."  Considering the mindset of Hollywood, and that of the writers of movies, whether in 1957, or today, and the mindset of the character Andy Griffith plays, perhaps Andy Griffith himself, I'm pretty sure the intent was sarcasm, and contempt.
But the truth is that there really is nothing as trustworthy as the ordinary mind of the ordinary man, or woman. Many people, including some bloggers I've read, delight in calling them Joe Sixpack, or other putdowns, but the truth is without the ordinary people, the workers, the buyers, those who support and pay taxes and elect, rightly or wrongly the assholes in government, whatever country you care to mention, this would be a pretty poor world. Nobody but the rich, how boring would that be?
Tonight I was watching one of the DeathWish series, number 5. Bronson as Paul Kersey had just blown away a bad guy, as the DA walked into the room, he explained to the DA that he'd have killed both of them given a chance. The DA nodded and walked over to the dead bad guy. Looking down he said, "No Judge, No Jury, No Appeal, No Deal..." I couldn't help but think that maybe what this world needs is fewer laws and cops, fewer deals, fewer appeals, and more vigilantes.
This country, at least has gotten to the point that the bad guys have almost become the good guys. Breaking a law gets you thrown in prison where you watch tv, lift weights or work out, have all the dope you want, hang out with your buddies, and screw or get screwed. Most of them have it better inside, than on the outside, and we the good guys pay for them to live this way. Somehow it just doesn't seem right.
Now I understand that many find the idea of vigilantes killing bad guys objectionable, even if it is cheaper to the rest of us. So here's another idea since most of the prisoners in the US are non violent, in for drugs or other stupid rather than violent crimes, why not put them to work repairing the disintegrating infrastructure, roads, bridges, etc. Put them in work camps like the WPA used to have, charging them to live and eat. Pay them a wage, and apply everything but what they'd need for food and rent for themselves, to supporting those in prison. Of course they'd pay tax, like the rest of us. Make sense?  Another thought, I've read that in pre-Chinese Tibet, some criminals were allowed to roam about freely, the catch was that they were fitted with a collar, that exended out two feet or so. This collar was heavy and  prevented them from feeding themselves or easily drinking. They had to depend  literally on the kindness of others to eat or drink. Of course committing another crime, while probably possible was unlikely. Maybe we should try that and close the prisons, it would be cheaper and I suspect more effective.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Update on Mini-Stroke??? Ear Infection??? Latest info again...again

Well still going on, just went to Faxton Hospital in Utica for an abdominal ultrasound looking for an aneurysim in the arteries. Dr Alfaro-Franco apparently heard or saw something making her think there might be a problem, so Dr. Welch said I should have the ultra sound, he's also arranged for me to see an eye doctor and a Gastroentrologist, the eyes because of the diabeties, the Gastro to consider a colon exam, which I'll say now is unlikely, not only is it personally invasive, but my father had colon cancer, which eventually killed him, after a colostomy, so I'm thinking what I don't know won't hurt me...and if it does, it probably would have anyway. Personally I'm starting to think I was right when I said in December when all this started that the Doctors would order a million dollars worth of tests and exams, not know what actually happened, and tell me to take an asperin daily. Which I started on my own. So far that seems to be what's happening.  Speaking of the diabeties, I have noticed some blueness in the big toe nail on my left foot, that's a little disturbing. I have an appointment Monday for another test at UpState Hospital in Syracuse, Dr Deshaises, they're apparently going up from an artery in my leg to my head for a look around after putting dye in my blood. He said that I have, or may have, a buildup of calcium in the arteries and veins to my brain, and that may be what caused the stroke or whatever it was, by limiting the bloodflow to the brain. This test determines the extent. At that point it's a case of leave it alone or fix it. He said it can't be cured, the object is to keep it from getting worse. So the dance goes on....They're making money on me and can't or won't give me an answer.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

They Say It's Impossible... They Don't Understand Why, or How, But They Just Know It's Impossible

Many of the things that I believe, or consider, and have talked about here, or in conversation, are considered whacko and idiotic. They are to be honest, outside the interest, experience, or knowledge of the average person. Most of us rely on our own knowledge and experience, or the knowledge of experts, or both, to determine if something is possible.
Generally the average person has little to no knowlege or experience  beyond getting along on a day to day basis. As a rule most people never look below the surface, they never, or rarely ask why, or what if.  Many don't read, or expand on the knowledge they aquired in school,  assuming that they were given all, or more than the teaching they'd need for the rest of their lives. In my own family I've been told that I'm an odd duck, to say it nicly, because I have so many books, that I read. Two or three of my own family have told me they haven't read since school.
Many or even most people assume that an expert in any field knows everything about that subject, and that if they say a thing happened, didn't happen, or couldn't have happened, it must be right, after all they're the experts, right? It never occurs to them that the expert may not know everything, that the expert might have preconceptions or beliefs that color his or her objectivity, or that they have bought into the ideas that they were taught, and their teachers were taught, and their...well you get the idea, they just know it's, whatever it is, impossible, because it's been taught, or believed to be impossible since forever, or even longer.
For instance, I believe, I know, don't ask me how, but I've always known that there were civilizations greater and more advanced than ours tens of thousands of years in the past. Who they were, what they did, how they did it, I don't have a clue, I just know in my gut they were. There are clues, hints, in ancient writings, and myth, but evidence in the hand, little or none.
People ask if true, why only stone tools and weapons, why no skyscapers, why no ancient cars, or airplanes, why no ancient books or libraries? If there were advanced civilizations, or cultures where are the guns, where are the other advanced weapons, where are the advanced tools, why are the only things found made of stone, copper and bronze? My reaction is it's been tens of thousands of years, I'd be more surprised if there were remains on every corner.
If you watch the History or Discovery Channel show, Life After People, you see that most everything we have, the stuff that defines us as advanced, the electronics, the art, the books, the buildings, the infrastructure roads, bridges, everything, will all disappear in the first couple of thousand years.
From previous or pre-historic civilizations, the great pyramid and the Sphinx, as well as thousands of monuments, temples, pyramids, and buildings are left in Egypt, there are other cities and monuments left scattered around the world, all generally made of stone. As a rule they have several things in common, no matter where they're located, they're huge, made of stones weighing many tons not a few pounds, they're made using mortarless construction, and usually finished so that a knife blade or in some cases even a sheet of paper can't be slid between them. They have holes and grooves, or other features, as part of their finishing so precise and difficult that they must have been done with tools that didn't exist prior to us, as far as we know.
In addition, some of the ruins are in places like the top of the Andes, where finding the materials, moving them, and supporting the workforce that we imagine would be necessary is virtually impossible, at least given what we know today. It's pretty much agreed that with all our advanced knowledge and tools and equipment we would find it impossible or nearly so, to duplicate these ancient feats of engineering and building. Yet there they are, they exist, you can see them, reach out and touch them. Somebody built them. Who was it?  A people who are barely out of the trees, that were said to be hunter gathers a few generations before? Who either don't write, or have just developed writing in the form of hieroglyphics? Who have no mathematical skills? No, I agree, it's unlikely that these people built the pyramids, or anything like them. So, who did it? A previous civilization that had the engineering, and math skills, the surveying skills, the equipment and machinery needed to put anything from a 4 ton to 100 ton block of stone in place. The workmen capable of building and setting the blocks together using no mortar, yet so well built that thousands of years later a knife blade or even in some cases a sheet of paper can't be slid between them. My grandfather was a mason, and I doubt even he was that good.  So, there was a civilization, one or more, but at least one that was detroyed long ago, people, possibly Neanderthal, possibly not, were nearly wiped out.
Imagine if that happened today, something happens that wipes out a large part of the world population, the large cities, the cars, the electricity. No lights, no heat or a/c, no refrigerators, no telephones, no computers, no internet, no gas so no cars, buses, trucks, trains or airplanes.  Suddenly we're thrust back in the dark ages, no pun intended. Maybe not quite but for most of us it would seem so. People are left but just here and there, gangs roam the streets of what's left of the cities, the various militaries around the world try to restore order by doing what they do best, dictators little and big take over. Madness rules and lots of us, some of those trying to survive, and get back what they lost move into the woods, probably hunting for food, possibly growing some food, or eating wild vegitables or fruit, and eventually living in caves, and trying to teach their children what they know and remember.
In kindergarden we played a game called Telephone, we'd sit in a row and starting at one end whisper something to the kid next to us. Invariably whatever it was was nothing like what was wispered at the start. I think it would be the same today in a situation like I described above and was surely the same back then in pre-history, the survivors taught their kids, who taught their kids, who taught their kids, on and on, and on.
Eventually, maybe sooner, the world they knew is gone, gone forever. All they know  is hunting and gathering, the family, or tribe is everything. Strangers, as they've been taught down through the generations are at best suspect, not to be trusted, at worst enemies out to destroy the family. The only law is survival, at any expense. The knowledge and experience that the original survivors tried to pass on becomes stories, legend and myth. The skill of writing and reading is lost . Understand, they aren't stupid just nobody remembers. 
Also another factor may come into play, mutation, or as some call it evolution. Over  successive generations, hundreds or thousands of them, mutation and evolution takes place, they are no longer the same humans that destroyed the world. How or what caused it is anyones guess, possibly they've lost atributes or abilities their ancestors had, or perhaps they've gained some their ancestors never imagined, or both, who knows, but they're different.  At some point someone discovers a book, or remembers a myth, that you can plant a seed.
Somewhere, somehow, somebody learns. at least that's the accepted theory, what's taught in schools, probably worldwide, is that "modern civilization," started about 5000 years ago in the mideast, Sumer in Mesopotamia, and Egypt, moving on through the centuries. The accepted theory is that tribes of hunter gatherers today, were building cities, planting fields of grain and orchards, living together by the thousands, building the pyramids, temples and monuments, designing weapons and conducting organized wars tomorrow. Does it make sense?  I'm linking a website that does a pretty good job of explaing the accepted theory of where and when civilization started, all I ask is think about it, if it does make sense, great. If not dig deeper and look under the surface, ask why and what if....

History of Civilization


Lee Murray

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Anyone who isn't with me opposes me.... Paraphrase of Chris Clarke comment

I just nuked a comment from a climate change denialist. I don’t want that crap here. Take it somewhere else. This is a reality-based website.
 
Posted by Chris Clarke on 09/01 at 03:17 PM
 
"Anyone who isn't with me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me"  Luke 11:23
Quoted from the New Living Translation Bible.... This should be in big print on Chris Clarke's blog Coyote Crossing.  Then we'd all know where we stand, agree or move along, quickly.
 
A blog Coyote Crossing was recommended by a friend, I checked it out and decided to comment on a comment that had been made to a post called Last Summer in Ivanpah. I found out a very important thing, I'm not going to call Chris Clarke the type that hates those who disagree with, or challenge, his point of view.  I'll let his own words, in the first paragraph above speak for him.  Clearly he is unwilling or unable, to tolerate those who disagree, even slightly. This can easily be seen during even a casual reading of the comments he allows.
 
But, it is his blog, and he is allowed to use any criteria to determine who he does, or doesn't, allow to express an opinion. In his case, the only opinions allowed are those of his fans and cohorts, if you dare to express disagreement...well you see above the result. I fully expect that I'm offending my friend, who is a fan, and cohort, of Mister Clarke, and I'm sorry for that, but unfortunately this could not go un-remarked.
 
Lee Murray