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Re: Baba's Warning

From: Terri Miler To: AM-GLOBAL Subject: Re: Baba's Warning Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:43:06 -0400 Baba "Sa'r'a' yadi na'i va' dile prabhu, a'mi toma'y d'eke ya'bo..." (PS 1813) Purport: Baba whether You choose to respond or not, but I will go on calling You through my kiirtan, sadhana, and dhya'na. To go on calling You is my duty-- it is my work. And by this way I will also be able to know what work You have. Baba, the rush of the restless breeze and the humming of the swaying trees in the forest go on calling You always. Do You reply to their call or not? I will ask them secretly about this. Baba, with deep yearning and longing, devotees make their garlands for You-- in the burning heat of the flame and in the cold chill of the fog. Baba, are you understanding their pain and suffering. If You do not understand then with the heartfelt composition of a song, I will explain their feelings to You. O' my dearmost Baba, I will call out to You again and again, please grace me by giving a response...
== BABA'S WARNING ==
~ Part 2 ~
Note: This is in follow-up to the first letter on this topic: http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2009/03/babas-warning.html
Namaskar, Today's world is in a dire fix - a difficult situation. One of the main causes is the relationship between science and civilization - i.e. technological advancements and the way they affect society. That is why Baba has issued a grave warning: If the relationship between science and civilization is not addressed - our civilization will be no more.
NOT TO BE CONFUSED: OUR MARGA SUPPORTS SCIENCE
In AM, we all know that Baba is in favour of the use and development of science. Baba says, "It is evident that those who criticize science in reality want to turn the onward current of the Ganges backwards towards it source, which totally contradicts the principles of dynamics. " (AFPS-2) So Baba firmly guides us that the right and rational use of science is a requirement for the growth and sustenance of a healthy human society. Side by side Baba also warns us that when science gains more stature than civilization, then society meets its destruction. Baba says, "Where scientific progress supersedes civilization, there civilization meets its Waterloo." (AFPS-6) So it is our duty to understand what this means and evaluate what is happening in today's world. What is meant by civilization? And, how is science taking shape today? These are the types of questions we are to contemplate. At the same time, we should brainstorm ways to keep science as a benevolent tool of humanity.
CIVILIZATION
In a phrase Baba defines civilization as the following: Baba says, "The subtle sense of refinement that we come across in the different expressions of life is called civilization." (PNS-6) In plain language, that means in a civilized society, if an elderly person falls down on the road, then people will quickly come to help him. In a civilized society, people wash themselves properly before eating food. In a civilized society, there is concern for all children and no member of society should suffer needlessly. In a civilized society, a person will never be subject to capital punishment (i.e. death). In a civilized society, people will daily chant the name of the Lord. In a civilized society, there will be freedom of expression and that expression will be sentient in nature. So civilization means the extent to which the finer aspects of human understanding have been incorporated into daily life. However, where this is absent and science is grossly on top and in the hands of malevolent people, that is when there is grave danger to that society. In the past, both the Greeks and Egyptians met their downfall because science overpowered the tenets of their civilization. Debauchery, military torture, and the general misuse of science led to the crumbling of their empires. A similar event is going on today.
MISUSE OF SCIENCE IN TODAY'S WORLD
Nowadays, machines are used for the heightened production of cocaine, heroine and other drugs, such that that violence and profits amid drug cartels is at all all-time high. For more info, just investigate what is going on in Mexico these days. Internet scams are cropping up everywhere- stealing money from innocent people and agencies, and all kinds of other fraud. The internet is also a favorite medium of pornography and various other sexually laced brands. Huge money is being pumped into the latest technologies in order to fight wars in distant lands and threaten countries halfway around the world. All these things and more are clear-cut evidences how the misuse of scientific advancement is undercutting the humane development and sentient growth of our society. Yet at the same time, social problems like disease, starvation, homelessness, poor schools, etc are rampant and systemic problems in nearly every part of the world. Yet all the while, science is being used in more and more notorious ways. That is because those in power - the government, war lords, drug cartels, etc - all use or more precisely misuse science for their own selfish ends, and overlook the real needs of the people.
HOW CIVILIZATION IS DOWN IN INDIVIDUAL LIFE
So on the one side, those in control are using science unjustly, and side by side if we look around we can see how civilization is on the wane. Today, it has become acceptable for couples to give birth before getting married. Pre-marital sex and teenage pregnancy has become the norm. Those new-borns are being raised in inadequate environments and due to a lack of motherly love and parental guidance, those children often grow up to commit awful crimes. They blow up schools, attack others, and do so many heinous acts. What is the root cause? Lack of a civilized approach to family planning. This problem in individual life causes the degradation of the human beings involved. And indeed, there are numerous examples of how lack of a civilized approach undermines human life. Drinking too much alcohol, eating flesh foods, gambling etc all lead to the demise of the individual.
ALSO A PROBLEM IN COLLECTIVE LIFE
Just at this occurs in individual life, when civilized manners are not cultivated in the collective realm, then trouble erupts. Then science and technology fall into the wrong hands and are used in negative ways. Baba says, "There is no fault in the development of science. Time is also not to blame. The fault rests with us. Science does not tell us to use nuclear energy in destructive ways. To do so is to use science to establish our animality." (AMIWL-2) Science itself then is not the problem, but it is the wielders of science who are at fault. And that takes expression in numerous respects. Whether it be emitting toxins into the air, filling the earth with garbage, misguided medical research, abortions, failed justice systems, crude military maneuvers, or the like, where civilization is lacking, then the misuse of science comes to the fore, and society falls. This is the pattern. And that is why that same problem that led to the downfall of Egypt and Greece is knocking on our doorstep today. Baba says, "Take, for instance, the history of Egypt and Greece. So long as the scientific progress of these two countries did not supersede civilization, civilization prospered very well. But when the ingredients of enjoyment grew up in abundance, the civilization of both countries got destroyed, because science had occupied a higher position than civilization." (AFPS-6) Hence the situation facing us now is dire. There is no shortage of evidences which show that science is in the wrong hands and that our civilized expressions are all but gone. When this happens, the very existence of that society is threatened. That is Baba's grave warning.
WHAT IS THE ANSWER
The question then is, how to escape this predicament. One of the best ways is to implement restrictions and stipulations regarding the use of science. Just as we have child safety regulations and laws regarding the use of the internet by minors, we should have similar rules in place for everyone. This is not to suppress anyone's rights or freedoms but rather to aim people's growth in a sentient direction and protect them from negative tendencies. A moral board is needed that will create ways to do this. And that board will aim for the welfare of society. Just as parents create guidelines aimed for the welfare of the child, similarly we need benefactors at the helm who can create guidelines for all members of society. That will be a big boon for our human family. Please also write in with your suggestions about how to manage the use of science for the benefit of all, where people are not prone to using science in negative ways.
SCIENCE IS NEEDED FOR A GREAT SOCIETY
A society that is able to bring science into sentient use will bring happiness and welfare to all: Sarvajanahita'rtham' sarvajanasukha'rtham'. Then science will be used to wipe out disease, minimize our toiling in mundane affairs and grant us lots of time for higher pursuits like the fine arts and sadhana. That is Baba's vision for the use of science. Thus science itself is not antithetical to the development of our human society. Rather it is an integral component. Without science we will be forever stuck in the dark ages. By His grace when the high advancement of science is match by our highly civilized ways, then the golden era will descend on this earth. This will pave the way toward human fulfillment. So we must have more and more science, but balanced with a great civilization.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace we will escape today's precarious situation and create a world where civilization and science stand on equal ground. Then science will invariably propel us forward and not into the depths of degradation and destruction as is now happening. Baba says, "For human progress the cultivation of science must always be welcomed, but it is desirable that this cultivation of science should be carried out under the supervision of sadvipras." (PNS-6) Baba says, "Science should be just like art: science for service and beatitude. Art for service and beatitude, I said; and now I say, science is also for service and beatitude. Science should always be utilized for the proper progress of human society." (PNS-9) Namaskar, Tapeshvar
Note 1: SCIENCE IS TO BE SUPERVISED NOT STOPPED
Here again Baba guides us how we are to appreciate scientific development and not forget science as happened under Gandhi and during the Buddhist age in India. Baba says, "Nowadays a group of people allege that science is the root of all evils and that new scientific inventions have created dissention in human society, pushing human civilization along the path of destruction...Some people seem to enjoy making useless criticisms against science all the time. Such criticisms, of course, come from those who have lost their vitality and capacity to adjust to new situations, and from those who, due to their physical inertia, have accepted some dogmatic notion as established fact." (AFPS-2)
************************************** Some Medicines
Baba says, "The third health-determining element is kapha, or the liquid, viscous portion of the body. Excess kapha creates spontaneous heat within the body which manifests externally as fever...Ginger is the enemy of kapha, the destroyer of kapha. Thus one name of ginger in ayurveda is kapha'ri. Similarly, arum or elephant root is the destroyer of arsha [piles] so arum in Sanskrit is called arsha'ri or arshaghnii." (SC-3, p. 103) Note: The first two health determining elements are va'yu and pitta.
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